Omfg! My dad tossed his and my mom's absentee ballots in the trash last night!!!

[ecstatic]

I helped my dad complete his ballot application last Wednesday and I guess he was thrown off when 2 ballots arrived yesterday because he felt like he had already done that step. I'm irritated with myself for not making it clearer what the next step would be--I thought I told them the ballots would be arriving this week. Maybe I could have been clearer about the process, but I also feel like this happened due to trump's constant crying about rigged elections and fake ballots!

Luckily, my dad says he was able to retrieve both ballots from the trash. I'm going to their house first thing tomorrow to make sure they fill it out right and get it in the mail.

[Baitball Blogger]

1. Make sure there isn't any mark on them.

Not even a coffee stain. You can ask for a replacement, but it will probably require that you walk down to the election's office and you will have to surrender the ballot to get the replacement.

[ecstatic]

7. I'm thinking about heading there now

I'm not confident about the situation.

[Ilsa]

2. I hope they weren't spoiled by anything nasty smelling.

Good luck to them!

[still_one]

3. Glad you were able to retrieve them. Theoretically you should have been able to get a replacement

ballot, but glad that is a non-issue now

[lostnfound]

4. Bless you! Hurrah! Kudos! Respect!

And all that good stuff for heLping get two votes in.

[Rhiannon12866]

5. What's your state?

Stephen Colbert is releasing videos for every state explaining the voting procedures, since they're all different, confusing as hell. I've been posting them in the state forums as they come out, think he's gotten to about half the states, so far. Maybe it would help if your parents watched that.

[ecstatic]

9. Thanks. Georgia.

I'm about to grab some stamps and oversee the process from start to finish. Lol

[Rhiannon12866]

16. Ah! Georgia was one of the first states Colbert covered, he's doing the earliest voting states first

If this helps - your parents. But your parents are lucky to have you, this has to be the most confusing election of all time. Here in New York, I voted absentee in the primary since the governor sent every voter an application. I was going to do that again in November, but we also have early voting here for the first time.

Georgia, Confused About Voting In The 2020 Election? "Better Know A Ballot" Is Here To Help!
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10463485

[ecstatic]

17. Thanks! Definitely will share this. nt

[LisaL]

18. Each ballot likely going to need more than one stamp.

NT

[ecstatic]

22. More than 1 forever stamp?

I have some from like 5+years ago.

[LisaL]

23. Yes.

The ballots and envelopes together are likely heavier than 1 oz. Although this link says 1 stamp should be enough? I would weight it to be sure.

"Q: How much postage do I need?

A: A 55-cent or Forever stamp will get your ballot mailed to the elections office."

https://www.augustachronicle.com/news/20200923/absentee-voting-in-georgia-your-questions-answered

[Quixote1818]

6. Would they still have been able to vote in person if they had been lost? nt

[ecstatic]

8. Provisional. Which IMO means no

It's hard enough to get our votes counted under normal circumstances. Smh

[foo_fighter999]

24. Good move.

Provisional ballots are to easy to be thrown out for no real reason at all.

Thanks for everything you're doing to help your parents vote!

[Retrograde]

15. Depends on the state

In California they could ask for a provisional ballot - which gets processed after all the in-person and mail-in ballots. If there is no record that their mail-in ballots were received it might be accepted.

[Indykatie]

10. Wow - That Was Fast - Getting the Actual Ballot in Less Than a Week- What State Are You In?

[Totally Tunsie]

11. Just make sure those are legit ballots, and not something

bogus sent out by the tRump organization.

My concern is because you mentioned filling out their application just last Wednesday. It doesn't sound correct that you would already receive the actual ballots in 6 days. That is an unusually fast turnaround. If you mailed the application back on Wed. or Thurs., it probably wasn't received until at least Saturday when municipal offices are closed. If they didn't look at it until Monday, how would they have had time to verify the signatures and mail a ballot to reach your parents on Tuesday?

[ecstatic]

14. It's clear to me, at this point, that anyone who has not voted absentee before

should not vote absentee this time. Luckily I got some experience in the primary and runoff.

I can no longer confidently recommend mail in voting for newbies. This election is too important!

Edited: Sorry I replied in the wrong place but, yes it's legit. Our voter pages show when our applications are received and the date of mailing. It's funny because I submitted my ballot in early August. I finally got my parents to do theirs last week. Yet they received theirs before me. All of our ballots were sent to us via USPS on 9/18/20.

[LisaL]

19. Well GA has started sending absentee ballots.

I don't see why they couldn't receive actual ballots.

[Crunchy Frog]

12. I think that mail in voting should be discouraged

except in states where it's the established method of voting, or if it's absolutely necessary, or in cases where the voters know exactly what they're doing.

There's too much risk that Trump will throw out the ballots under any pretext.

[sfstaxprep]

13. We're In The Middle Of A Pandemic

With an utterly Fucked Up Federal response.

[Crunchy Frog]

21. My mother will be 81 by election day and I'm in my late fifties.

We've gotten full body hazmat suits and n95 masks and gloves, and we're going to vote early in person, whatever it takes.

We were going to vote by mail, but we just don't trust it.

[sfstaxprep]

28. I Plan To Vote In Person As Well

But some people won't, so I don't think discouraging them from voting at all, is a good idea.

[Crunchy Frog]

29. I would NEVER suggest that someone not vote rather than vote by mail.

I just think that people who can vote in person should try to.

[LisaL]

20. Yea, great idea during a pandemic.

NT

[mjvpi]

25. Make yourself feel better by reading about Oregon.

All mail elections I believe. High voter participation. No problems.

[Crunchy Frog]

30. I was a registered Colorado voter for several years after they adopted

all mail elections. It's a perfectly fine system of voting, except.

When it's suddenly adopted across the country in states where it's not customary and without adequate preparation, in a political atmosphere where everything possible is being done to sabotage it, or discredit it, with the ultimate aim being to not count most mail in ballots.

I can't believe that people are having a such a difficult time understanding the special circumstances that we're currently dealing with.

[mjvpi]

31. Yes, Trump and Covid-19

I do recognize the challenges of instituting mail n voting on the fly. The fact that he Senate has failed to act on a House bill that addressed election security and wouldn’t pick up the covid bil with voting as an element is treasonous.

[SunSeeker]

26. Thank you for staying on top of the situation. Every vote counts!

[hlthe2b]

27. OHHHH. This is unlikely to be limited to your folks or other elderly.

I hate this.

My parents--even in their later years--were so tuned into what was happening in the news, in life in general, I can not imagine them being bamboozled. But so many are not paying attention.

Sigh...