trump wins again

[newdayneeded]

I was just listening to my 87 y/o mom last night in a rage that almost brought her to tears. She was mad about being disenfranchised from voting. She's never missed a voting date and now doesn't even get ballots mailed to her. because of trump ballot boxes are gone, I can't hand deliver her ballot, a ballot won't even be sent to her. My mom is near blind, and relies on family for any transportation.

The fucken guy is a monster, and is still terrorizing each of us in some way, everyday!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. ADA-based lawsuit? NT

[Hiawatha Pete]

14. +1

[secondwind]

2. There HAS to be a solution.......somehow... UGH

[SharonClark]

3. Don't blame trump, blame your GQP state legislature.

I know it's inconvenient. My Mom is 91 and the window for applying for and submitting a mail in ballot is brief.

If it's too late for your Mom, can you take her to the elections office to vote early or take her to her precinct on election day?

[newdayneeded]

6. This is indeed from trump.

His paranoid thoughts are what made them pass the bills, he seeded this bullshit.

I will look into it Monday, it's just the point that I have to jump through hoops to see that my mom can vote.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

35. The Fascist Oligarch eXtremists network told trumPutin mail-in ballots were bad.

That Grotesque Orange Pustule got his tweeting orders every night from Hannity.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

36. Did they also tell

The OP to have his mom’s mail sent out of state so that she has now way to receive an absentee ballot?

The law isn’t the problem here - mail in balloting is permitted. But if the only means to receive a ballot by mail has been eliminated, that’s not due to the law.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

40. See also, DeJoy. The basic problem is the radicalized Republican party.

In Kentucky, we were lucky that Gov. Beshear jumped in to make mail-in ballots easy during the worst of the pandemic. Our bloody red state legislature then tried to strip him of the power to respond to covid-19. Later, he signed a slightly schizo bipartisan bill that expanded voting rights in some areas and restricted them in others. We're still one of the most restrictive in the country.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

41. De joy has nothing to do with this instance

OP’s mom can’t get a ballot by mail because her mail doesn’t even come to her anymore, it’s sent to a relative out of state.

Dejoy is an asshole, but this has zero to do with him.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

42. That might be a problem. Not seen in the OP. I'm out.

[Scrivener7]

4. You make sure she votes. If you can't drive her, arrange for an Uber.

And call the local election office and tell them she is coming and will need assistance.

[Botany]

5. Slow down and take a breath

If your mom voted in 2020 then she should be still registered.


1) Contact your county B.O.E. and well being VERY NICE tell them how do you make
sure your mom can vote. They should be able to mail an absentee ballot to her mailing
address.

2) Contact your state democratic HQ and ask to speak to somebody about voting and tell
them the problem(s) of getting a ballot to your mom.

Any other ?s p.m. me.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

7. Great responses

Definitely needs to be looked into, as this just doesn’t sound right.

OP, what state does your mom live in?

[newdayneeded]

12. WI

[calimary]

9. These are indeed great responses.

As the bad guys are skilled in finding workarounds, so should WE be, also.

[samnsara]

8. theres no church group that can pick her up?

[machoneman]

10. What's weird: the oldest voters who have voted R in those R states that dropped mail-in voting...

..will hurt the R turnout. Sure D's will be hurt too but in R states, the oldest do vote by a wide margin for R candidates.

This and other policies, many not doing with voting, have been ill-advised and will hurt the R vote for years to come. Example? I do foresee many R women abandoning their R candidates at many levels simply due to their opposition to the draconian moves against any forms of abortion, birth control, laws against travel to "free" states (my new term) where choice still prevails and more. Heck, making mail order pills illegal, jailing those who cross state lines, etc. is a bridge too far for many Republican women....we hope!

[Kaleva]

11. Which state does she live in?

WI still allows absentee voting.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

15. Exactly

OP's mom needs to request the absentee ballot...I must be missing something, because I don't see why she can't get a ballot.

[Kaleva]

18. "WEC administrator says voters should mail their own absentee ballots following....

Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling"

https://madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/wec-administrator-says-voters-should-mail-their-own-absentee-ballots-following-wisconsin-supreme-court-ruling/article_774db54f-8fd8-59ca-ba9d-4831ccd7fff7.html

[SickOfTheOnePct]

20. Yes

But that's after the ballot is received and filled out - OP is saying his mom can't even get a ballot.

And although I agree that the state requirement for only the voter to mail the ballot is onerous and most likely illegal given federal law, how hard is it to walk mom out to the mailbox so that she can put her ballot in the mail?

[Rebl2]

22. I think

she could be driven to a post office and she would have to be the one to drop it in the mail. I do wonder what the law is for someone who is nearly blind. Can someone else help her fill it out?

[newdayneeded]

25. We cancelled home mail delivery

It's delivered to a family member out of state.

I'll have to run her to the voting office to check registration, then get a ballot. then run her again to drop off the ballot.

I'll call Monday on all of this. it's just that they made more hoops for her and all other elderly (and their families to have to run them around) to simply vote.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

27. I'm sure you have your reasona

But frankly, the decision to stop mail delivery to her house is the biggest contributor to the extra hoops you have to jump through.

[newdayneeded]

30. She's 87

and there's ice and snow in Wisconsin. We don't want her getting mail in those conditions. besides, she's virtually blind, can't read mail anyway.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

32. Fair enough

Then how did you expect her to get an absentee ballot, which comes via mail?

You’re upset with a voting law that has absolutely zero to do with her problem.

[BlackSkimmer]

33. Thank you.

Wow, this OP. Smh.

[newdayneeded]

48. I see my personal fan is back

[Kaleva]

28. This wouldn't be an issue then if didn't have her mail forward out of state.

How about the mail going to you instead?

[yellowdogintexas]

21. question: if you drop it in the mail for her at the Post Office

after hours, who is going to see you and how are they going to know at the elections office who dropped it in the mail and when? You can always get into the lobby because of the boxes inside; you can always go in and drop off or pick up mail, buy stamps from the vending machine, or even mail a small package. If I were in your situation that is what I would do.

If you contact your elections office and she is sent a ballot, can she put it in her outgoing mail box?

Here in TX when we drop off ballots, the voter in question must show ID then the ballot will be accepted and put with the other unopened ballots until the ballot board begins screening them.

I agree that your first step is calling your Elections Office. Write down your questions so you don't leave anything out.

Best of luck!

[Rebl2]

23. We have cameras

in our post office. Can’t imagine they would go to the trouble of checking cameras at PO, but never know these days.

[Kaleva]

29. No cameras at our post offices where I live.

[yellowdogintexas]

50. surely the cameras are not able to tell what you are dropping in the slot

besides you could mail some other pieces with it and no one could tell

[BlackSkimmer]

13. Surely someone will take her to vote?

I took my 90 year old mother to vote. Her last vote was for Hillary.

[dlk]

16. And Putin wins again...

He’s the puppet master behind it all

[BlackSkimmer]

17. A simple google search shows that one can vote absentee.

Simply request the ballot. It says they will send them to you, so somehow she's gotten some bad info.

Call your local Board of Elections, as someone else suggested.

Tfg hasn't won shit.

[Rebl2]

19. There will be thousands

like her unfortunately.

[llmart]

24. Something doesn't seem right with your information.

Maybe your mother is a bit confused about this. There has always been the ability to vote absentee. Yes, maybe they've made it more difficult but they can't do away with absentee voting all together. She needs to request an absentee ballot and put it out in her mailbox for pickup by the USPS carrier if they've removed all the drop boxes. There is usually a place on the outside of the ballot envelope where, if someone needs assistance in filling it out, someone can help them but that someone has to sign that they did help them.

I volunteered at a center for blind people for many years. No one can disenfranchise blind people from voting.

[Kaleva]

26. +1

[Tree Lady]

31. If you live close enough to visit change

Mailing address to yours if that is legal.

That is awful. I feel for her.

Or does she go out? Can you drive to polling place? How long are the lines? Get her a walker with chair on it so she can sit.

[totodeinhere]

34. Not to excuse Trump in any way but why don't you just drive her to her polling station

on election day?

[FakeNoose]

37. If you and your mother are both residents of Wisconsin

... why couldn't you receive your mother's mail for her? Is there a legal reason why your mother's mailing address can't match yours? If you can receive her mail, then change your Mom's mailing address to yours on her voter registration. It wouldn't be necessary to change all of her mail to you, BUT the voting address matters the most.

If you receive her ballot and deliver it to her, you can make sure she votes, and then you can be the one to mail the ballot from your residence. Do this work for you?

[Ms. Toad]

38. My guess is that you and/or your mom misunderstand the law.

Last edited Sun Jul 17, 2022, 07:49 PM - Edit history (1)

As a general rule, ballots may be picked up and returned by a relative. If there is no in-state relative, the voter can generally designate a person to do so.

Down-thread, someone suggested the state at issue was Wisconsin, which works this way.

ETA: There was a bill to make all of this very explicit, which passed the senate and assembly, but not signed into law.But for now, both federal election law and state law (since the court decision expressly declined to address it) permit an agent to place the absentee ballot in the mailbox.

Yes it is more challenging, but I don't believe it is true that she will be unable to vote.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

39. Per WI court

Only the voter can return the ballot.

[Ms. Toad]

44. The court did not adress who could place the ballot in a mailbox.

It said ballot drop boxes are illegal, because a drop box is not a person. The court decision did not address who could drop the ballot in a mailbox (or return it to the board of electors).

The relevant language from the decision:

An absentee ballot must be returned by mail or the voter must personally deliver it to the municipal clerk at the clerk's office or a designated alternate site. . . . The documents do not address whether voters who mail an absentee ballot must personally place the ballot into a mailbox or if a voter's agent may do so. We therefore do not decide at this time whether the law permits a voter's agent to place an absentee ballot in the mail on the voter's behalf.

Note the different phrasing.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

45. I stand corrected

Thank you!

[Ms. Toad]

47. I'd just read enough articles about this

to know what to look for in the decision . . . media often mangles court decisions (and then because the mangled version is often inflammatory it takes on a life of its own).

[BlackSkimmer]

43. Thank you.

[yellowdogintexas]

51. every state has its own rules. In Texas every county has one drop off site

and ballots may only be dropped off on Election Day at the Elections Office, by the voter him/her self. No drop boxes.

We also have to request our mail in ballots; if you request in January you will receive a ballot for every election held in that year.

[Ms. Toad]

52. Ballots can also be returned by mail.

The Texas law is not clear as to who may physically drop the ballot in the mailbox. The case only addressed physical drop boxes - and declared them inconsistent with the law, since a drop box (an inanimate object) cannot be a municipal clerk (a person). The law is clear about who may return the ballot to the elections office (the voter). But the court expressly declined to address the question of who can deposit a mailed ballot in a mailbox.

In addition, as to who drops the ballot off at the Elections Office, Texas law says it must be the person, themselves. BUT that is in conflict with federal law (both elections and disability law) which allow a person with a disability to use an agent to drop their ballots off.

[Cha]

46. So Sorry! We're in Hawaii and still Get

our Ballots in the Mail! :

Focus!
Please Fight to Save Our Democracy💙 in 2022 & 2024!

[SickOfTheOnePct]

49. They do in OP's state too n/t

[BlackSkimmer]

53. You said you were going to call today. I hope you got it all straightened out!

Seems an easy fix, despite the fact you've had her mail rerouted.

[newdayneeded]

54. I did call.

It'll just be a lot of travel to get her the stuff she needs. I'll make sure she's set.

[BlackSkimmer]

55. I drove my mom around everywhere the last year of her life.

I wish she was still here to drive her any and everywhere.

That was a "lot of travel" I never got enough of unfortunately.