Concerns growing over rejection of mail-in ballots in Georgia, other states

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

ATLANTA — Drawing on her years of military experience, Maureen Heard was careful to follow all the rules when she filled out an absentee ballot for the 2016 election.

She read the instructions thoroughly, signed where she was supposed to, put the ballot in its envelope and dropped it off at her county elections office in New Hampshire. She then left town to return to a temporary federal work assignment in Washington, D.C.

"I have learned over the years, many years in the military of filling out forms, how to fill out forms — and I was very intimidated by the process," said Heard, who served in the Air Force and as a lieutenant in the U.S. Coast Guard. "I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I have to make sure I get it absolutely right.' And then it didn't count."

Heard, 57, discovered last year that she was among roughly 319,000 voters across the country whose absentee ballots were rejected during the last presidential election. The reasons varied, ranging from missing deadlines to failing to sign their ballot.

Heard's ballot was tossed out because the signature did not match the one on file at her local election office.

More people than ever are returning their ballots by mail or dropping them off at a local election location rather than voting in a booth on Election Day. Those developments make it easier to cast ballots and are designed to boost turnout.

The trend also is raising concerns about whether voters can be assured their ballots will count or be notified in time if there is a problem. Voting rights activists want to ensure that voters are given a reasonable chance to fix any problems.

Earlier this month, the ACLU and other groups filed lawsuits in Georgia after an Atlanta-area county reported a comparatively high rate of rejected absentee ballots during the start of early voting. Those actions followed similar lawsuits in New Hampshire and California.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/concerns-growing-over-rejection-of-mail-in-ballots-in-georgia-other-states/ar-BBP7H0H?li=BBnb7Kz

[BumRushDaShow]

1. I know a lot of DUers tout "mail in" ballots, etc.

but hopefully they are seeing the issues for those in red states where your "mail in" and/or "absentee" ballot can be thrown out at the whim of the "state" for pure nonsense.

[Amaryllis]

2. In ORegon we have all vote by mail, and we can check where our ballot is in the process every step

of the way. And if there are any problems, they attempt to contact us and give us a chance to remedy it. We have many checks and balances and a rigid chain of custody. But it takes election officials committed to clean elections for it to work. Paper ballots are far superior to machines with no way to recount, but if election officials want to disenfranchise voters, they find a way, no matter what system is used. That being said, some systems are much easier to manipulate than others.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

3. Yes it's likewise in Washington

[kacekwl]

4. Concern ? A little late I'd say.

This has been talked about forever . A judge has to stop this now. Freeze the election until someone honest can as drumph would say, find out what the hell is going on.

[ThoughtCriminal]

5. I just checked my early ballot status in Arizona

Accepted!

If you voted early in AZ, you can check your ballot status here:

https://voter.azsos.gov/VoterView/AbsenteeBallotSearch.do