The NY Post reports election results:
Ballot measures to loosen voting rules are big losers in New York election
Good for New Yorkers! Education about the integrity of elections seems to have reached the people. Various methods that allow easy cheating have been rejected around the country.
Hi
@Valletta
I'm certainly in agreement that same day registration likely slows down the process of counting votes. People are aware of upcoming elections and I don't think it particularly onerous to require that they register to participate in a particular election at least a few days before the election. This provides time for the elections office to verify the voter's information.
As far as universal mail in balloting, if that means what I think it means, I am also in agreement that people should have to request a mail-in ballot. However, I believe that such a request also must be made several days or weeks before the actual election and that they needn't give a 'reason' for wanting a mail-in ballot. Again to allow time for the elections office to verify and mail out the ballot. To also allow the elections office to flag all those who requested mail-in ballots so that if they do present at an election site, someone will ask them about their mail-in ballot and what happened to it.
However, I also fully realize that if a particular state or jurisdiction doesn't handle their election process the way that
I think it should be handled, doesn't make their election results false or invalid, so long as they do have plans and processes in place to prevent double voting or unauthorized people returning the universally mailed ballots. So far, all indications are that the people have been pretty responsible, even in states where such practices as these questioned in New York have been in place, to only vote once and that the person to whom the mail-in ballot was sent, was in fact the person who filled it out and returned it. I think there have only been a handful of problematic ballots and they have been addressed.
What I find troubling is that some, not all, of the changes that are being considered do have some negative effect on some of the population being able to vote quickly and easily so that their voices are also heard. In my state of South Carolina, mail-in balloting is legal. However, to request a mail-in ballot one must present themselves to the elections office at least a couple of weeks before the election to make the request and their identification is verified at that time. They are then mailed a ballot to their home address and are expected to fill it out and mail it back in time to be received on or before election day.
I went in about 45 days before the election and received my ballot 3-4 days later and filled it out and dropped it in the drop box at the county elections office at least 2 weeks before the election. I then received notification that my ballot had been received about a week after I put it in the mail. But again, that's only how South Carolina handles mail-in balloting and each state is responsible for their own processes and procedures as regards voting laws and requirements. So states that do it differently are neither operating illegally nor necessarily allowing unqualified people to vote...according to that states definition of qualified voters.
From constitutioncenter.org:
“The constitutional rights, powers, and privileges of establishing voter qualifications, including voter registration requirements, are incidents of state sovereignty protected by Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution, the Tenth Amendment, and the Seventeenth Amendment. This power includes the power to obtain information the states deem necessary to assess eligibility or voter registration applicants, and to enforce voter qualifications. A mere oath without concrete evidence of citizenship…does not suffice.”
So, let's all keep in mind that voter requirements and eligibility are not some federal jurisdiction. Such processes and requirements are state ruled and many states have different rules. That doesn't make any state's methods illegal or unqualified and until the federal government decides to take over the jurisdiction of elections, then that is how it will be. Personally, I think the process has worked fine over the last few hundred years and am satisfied, so far, that there hasn't ever been enough improper or illegal voting to have made any difference in any of the national elections. Local elections in all the various states and jurisdictions across the country aren't really within my purview and so I have no directive in those.
Some local jurisdictions have elected positions for say, police chief or sheriff or county clerk, etc. Some have these as appointed positions. So long as the majority of the people of the jurisdiction are satisfied in their particular process, I'm fine with it.
God bless,
Ted
