General Discussion
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(11,701 posts)I suffer Waukesha County deja vu.
I guess this is the problem with not having a federal or other uniform system.
Atticus
(15,124 posts)Bluethroughu
(7,215 posts)The votes should be counted until their done, if that means paying people to do so, we should. 24/7 counting with cameras.
And not one single clerk in charge, but a nonpartisan pair approving counts and computer software totals.
Sucha NastyWoman
(3,019 posts)Seems to support your argument. But it would mean setting earlier deadlines for when mail in ballots need to be received by.
W_HAMILTON
(10,333 posts)...also relying on DeJoy's USPS to deliver those votes on time, which is exactly why the standard should be any ballot postmarked on Election Day and received up until a reasonable time frame (one week or so?) should be counted, which means results inevitably will not be known in some close races. And who cares? Most of these votes won't be certified as official for many days/weeks from now and none of these politicians will be sworn into office until a couple months from now. Why the rush? Why disenfranchise legal and lawful voters? Just because some people are impatient? Hell no.
Atticus
(15,124 posts)If there was a uniform standard requiring a postmark no later than 5 days before an election and envelopes clearly identifying ballots as priority mail, how would that "disenfranchise"---i.e., deny the right to vote to---anyone?
Are citizens incapable of following such a uniform rule?
Precincts should be smaller and more numerous. Drop boxes should be uniformly marked and widespread.
FreeState
(10,702 posts)Ive seen the same ones used for voter ID too. People do not disenfranchise themselves. Disenfranchisement is a result of a system.
Disaffected
(6,399 posts)Why use such a pejorative for no logical reason?
Is setting a fixed polling date also "disenfranchising"?
W_HAMILTON
(10,333 posts)Compare the leniency in receiving legal and lawful votes through the mail in blue states such as California vs. your typical red state.
Here in my red state hell hole, your mail-in ballot has to be RECEIVED by Election Day. That means you have to have it mailed several days in advance -- and then hope DeJoy's USPS doesn't DeJoy your ballot away.
Disaffected
(6,399 posts)a workable, uniform system whereby all ballots would have to be received at the vote counting stations by election day at the latest (in order for the results to be promptly announced). That could happen by a mailing deadline (for the mailed votes to be counted) or, drop boxes for those who miss the deadline or prefer to use a drop box in any case. Assisting this could be tabulation of mailed or drop box votes as they come in.
W_HAMILTON
(10,333 posts)Because we can't get federally consistent election reform passed now, probably not even if we maintain control of the House (since Manchin and Sinema both, I believe, have said they won't support filibuster reform for essentially anything), which means you won't have that to potentially negate the obvious negatives.
And, again, I don't see what the problem is to begin with. I'd much rather have democracy expanded and allow as many legally and lawfully cast ballots as possible vs. knowing sooner the outcome of races where the winner won't be sworn in for a couple of months regardless of when they are projected to be the winner.
Disaffected
(6,399 posts)it may mean it will not be allowed to work.
Having an immediate result would have significant benefit. For one, it would alleviate some of the din of election deniers drumming up reasons for mistrusting the outcome. It would help calm market gyrations which are exacerbated by the shift and flow of who will control congress or win the presidency, on sometimes a daily basis, while each and every vote is accounted for.
Downsides however would be a hard hit on the antacid, anxiety medication and alcohol suppliers as well as the media who otherwise get an easy source of news and controversy for the duration.
DiamondShark
(1,167 posts)They are akin to a cult.
The "market" is and will continue to be manipulated until Congress can pass reform.
Sucha NastyWoman
(3,019 posts)Polling place (or at least widely available) during the remainder of the voting period?
You really think Atticus would use right wing talking points, Free State?
Atticus
(15,124 posts)Unless you can prove the system as set up doesn't prevent people from showing up (and it does).
Response to FreeState (Reply #39)
Post removed
W_HAMILTON
(10,333 posts)What is the upside to rushing through the counting of votes and disenfranchising voters in the process? There is none. Most of these races will not be certified for days, if not weeks, from now anyway. None of them will be sworn in for a couple more months. So, we throw a cog into the process and disenfranchise who knows how many voters, all just to satisfy your wanting to know the results quicker.
Yeah, no thanks.
DiamondShark
(1,167 posts)3 weeks and counting. I voted on a provisional ballot on Tuesday and am now waiting.
Tell me what I did wrong.
FoxNewsSucks
(11,701 posts)Local mail used to be received within a couple days. Usually the next day.
yellowdogintexas
(23,694 posts)ballots as they arrive the problem would resolve itself.
We start when enough have been received to give our ballot board at least 4 hours work. Signatures and stupid numbers are verified, mailing envelopes removed and ballots (sealed in the secrecy envelope) are held until Election day when they are opened and scanned. Those results are part of the first batch of numbers we see after the polls close; the remainder is from early voting.
There should be Federal consistency guidelines on such procedures
SickOfTheOnePct
(8,710 posts)But it would mean changing state laws so that mail-in or drop-off ballots could be processed as they arrive rather than waiting for Election Day, which is the issue in some states.
Virginia and Florida seem to be able to do it quite well, but thats because laws were updated to allow the early processing. Also, tabulating the votes as theyre cast on Election Day rather than waiting until the polls close and then tabulating them at a centralized location would speed up the process.
Ferryboat
(1,263 posts)Some states like Pennsylvania, mail in ballots aren't counted until polls close.
A uniform national standard would be nice.
SickOfTheOnePct
(8,710 posts)In a national standard myself, but I would hope at some point, states would get tired of being mocked for how poorly they run their elections and make adjustments in their own.
Say what you want about Florida, but the 2000 debacle provided the impetus for them to design and implement one of the most efficient processes out there.
W_HAMILTON
(10,333 posts)...should be disqualified because they aren't received at the appropriate processing center and counted within two days?
I sure as hell would hope not.
NewHendoLib
(61,857 posts)W_HAMILTON
(10,333 posts)And even if it was such, there is little to no chance that lawful votes postmarked by Election Day would all be received and processed and entered into the official counts within two days after Election Day, so you would inevitably be disenfranchising some voters. Hell no to that.
NewHendoLib
(61,857 posts)W_HAMILTON
(10,333 posts)...within 48 hours of Election Day is disenfranchising. It means either you force people to have their votes postmarked before Election Day and depend on DeJoy's USPS to deliver them by Election Day, or you allow them to be postmarked on Election Day and depend on DeJoy's USPS to deliver them and have them processed and counted within two days of Election Day.
Either way, it is a short-sighted complaint that will disenfranchise legal and lawful votes, and all for what? So we can satisfy the impatience of random people on the internet? Yeah, no, that's not worth disenfranchising voters for.
inthewind21
(4,616 posts)all day long. But it's up to the states to determine how they run their elections. That falls to state legislatures. Good luck with that.
iemanja
(57,757 posts)As late as Saturday in Nevada's case.
I'm as impatient as you are. I want it to be over.
FoxNewsSucks
(11,701 posts)Another tRumper who should have been removed as soon as possible, or at least put on a leash to stop the damage he causes.
iemanja
(57,757 posts)even if none come in that day.
FoxNewsSucks
(11,701 posts)Impatient as I am, I really don't have a problem with that to make sure they all arrive.
I'm still just too suspicious of republicon dirty tricks. There is nothing they won't stoop to, even if this case is not their fault.
electric_blue68
(26,856 posts)FoxNewsSucks
(11,701 posts)It's not a direct hire/fire position. I forget the screwy convoluted way and what the explanation was. But I do remember being told in Jan of last year that it would be December 2021 before those terms expired so that Biden could appoint someone else, who would be able to fire DeJoy.
Seems like that time is long past, so I have no good explanation of why he's still there.
Captain Zero
(8,905 posts)That mail delivery within a state never took this much time until the Orange Asshole appointed Louis Scumbag DeJoy as Postmaster General. They have broken the post office on purpose and I think just for this purpose specifically. They want us to get frustrated with mail-in voting delays.
iemanja
(57,757 posts)By state law they still have to wait until then to finish counting, just in case votes come in.
This really isn't a DeJoy issue.
nitpicked
(1,834 posts)Tried to vote absentee, but my ballot never showed up.
The provisional won't be counted until tomorrow.
Hugh_Lebowski
(33,643 posts)i.e. they accept them til Saturday.
And they have 7 days (Monday) to accept vote curing.
Then they also have to do signature verification for everything that came on in election day. They work on that carefully, knowing that they can't finish until at least Monday ... anyway.
And the level of staffing and equipment is commensurate with that timetable.
Efilroft Sul
(4,413 posts)I can see that as a possibility.
yellowdogintexas
(23,694 posts)statewide plea for folks to sign up to be election workers.
There were counties which did not have enough workers to properly run the election!
We had to beat the bushes here - both for Republicans and Democrats. Texas law requires the Presiding and Alternate Judge at each location to be from opposite parties.
I think the hype about danger at the polls gave folks the heebie-Jeebies about their own safety. also, we lost a lot of our long time workers because our new equipment threw them for a loop; some of them were very elderly and could not deal with the electronic poll books.
We finally got enough folks to run the election
RockRaven
(19,365 posts)generous window allowing for receipt of a mailed ballot (to mitigate DeJoy type ratfuckery) regardless of where you live. In CA, it is 7 days, which sure seems reasonable to me, but I don't think it is a magic number. Two days, however, would be ridiculously inadequate. And ballots should not have to be mailed prior to election day (people voting in person have until election day to decide how to vote, so should mailers).
brooklynite
(96,882 posts)The he delay at this point is based on mail-in ballots. How long should they take to count?
central scrutinizer
(12,654 posts)Making sure no one is disenfranchised is more important than speed.
Wounded Bear
(64,324 posts)there are very limited standards, even. So states/counties are on their own.
Until we nationalize the system, we have what we have.
Atticus
(15,124 posts)grantcart
(53,061 posts)Progressive states that allow for counting of ballots that ARE POSTMARKED ON ELECTION DAY will take a couple of days to arrive, have to be checked and then counted.
Also military votes need time to arrive.
I don't understand why there is such a huff about how long it takes to count
As Democrats our concerns should be 2
1) Any system that gets more people voting
2) Any system that provides the highest accuracy of count.
In 99 percent of the cases races don't depend on the last votes to determine who is the winner but our concern should be getting the most people involved.
Mr.Mystery
(185 posts)on election day.
But normally there wouldn't be enough of these to make a difference.
Kaleva
(40,365 posts)In MI, we just passed a proposal mandating the counting of overseas/ military ballots recieved after the election as long as said ballots were postmarked by election day
Tree Lady
(13,282 posts)The liberal states giving people more time to vote by mail that is causing it. They are trying to make it easier for people with covid scares, work and day care.
I think all the in person stuff is counted.
In my state which is all by mail they use to have it where your vote was only counted if it arrived by election day so vote counting was fast, now its as long as it's mailed by voting day which means could get votes up to a week later.
JohnSJ
(98,883 posts)election day.
Why would anyone, especially a Democrat want to give someone every opportunity to see their vote is counted, is beyond me.
In addition, there are verification checks that need to be done, and provisional ballots that need to be processed
doc03
(39,086 posts)JohnSJ
(98,883 posts)In California, every effort is made to insure ALL legitimate ballots are counted
California law, and I suspect other states as well requires all mail-in ballots can be accepted and processed up to ONE WEEK after Election day need to be checked that they were Postmarked on or before Election Day.
After that has been verified, California requires that each signature on every mail ballot envelope need to be checked and matched to their records, and if there is a problem, California gives that voter additional time to fix it.
Provisional ballots must also be processed and verified before they can be counted.
The process also involves checking to insure that individuals do not vote twice.
All of this takes time. A lot of ballots are not mailed in by voters until the weekend before the election, up to election day.
I applaud California, and other states that go out of their way to insure EVERYONE who wants to vote gets to.
If that takes a little more time, TOUGH
Initech
(108,772 posts)Like really we need to tell these shitheads to go take a hike.
Just A Box Of Rain
(5,104 posts)Wouldn't want that.
WarGamer
(18,613 posts)Are you sure Brazil is the place you want to hold up as a model? Russia had theirs done faster.
WarGamer
(18,613 posts)Disaffected
(6,399 posts)Their national voting system(s) are apparently all electronic which allows almost immediate counting of votes as they are cast, no matter where in the country.
Now, it's fast but there never-the-less may be questions of security, I dunno...
ProfessorGAC
(76,695 posts)I care about accuracy.
They could go paper ballors & hand counts, take a week and as long as it was accurate it would be OK with me.
Nobody elected takes office for 2 months anyway. What's the rush?
jcgoldie
(12,046 posts)Worse, you are feeding a RW narrative. Votes count if they were postmarked by election day in many states as they should. The goal of democrats is to expand the electorate by giving everyone more options to vote and have their vote counted not to cut off voting early because you are impatient.
SickOfTheOnePct
(8,710 posts)allowing votes to arrive after Election Day and still be counted could still happen without this clusterfuck of not touching mail-in ballots until Election Day.
99.9% of the time, votes coming in after Election Day arent going to change the outcome. Of course they should still be counted, but there is no excuse for votes that came in prior to Election Day or on Election Day not being counted already.
jcgoldie
(12,046 posts)
passed those statutes to delay the counting of mail in ballots in 2020 was to fuel conspiracy theories and cast doubt on the process by taking advantage of the irrational sense of entitlement and impatience as expressed in the OP here.
But I WANNA KNOW NOW. So what?
Lettuce Be
(2,355 posts)wackadoo wabbit
(1,296 posts)In Arizona, for example, most people receive an early ballot, which can be either mailed or dropped off at official dropboxes. But Arizona law prevents election workers from counting those ballots before election day. So the majority of ballots need to have their envelopes opened, their signatures checked, and then be run through the machines; and this can only occur beginning on election day. It takes time.
It's unfortunate that so many in our civilization now expect immediate gratification.
Here's a link to a tweet by the person whom many consider to be the expert on Arizona elections. Sorry, but it's Twitter.
Link to tweet
FakeNoose
(41,631 posts)If mailed ballots were to be scanned and counted early before election day, then what happens if a voter who mailed a ballot early shows up and votes in person on election day. That's what got the Repukes all bent out of shape about mailed ballots in the first place.
The only way to know that they didn't vote twice is to NOT COUNT the mailed ballots until after the in-person ballots have been received and counted. Therefore, the millions of ballots that were mailed early, were sitting in a warehouse for up to 3 weeks doing nothing until after election day.
We are getting a little smarter though, by getting the date-checking and signature comparisons out of the way before storing the ballots. That did save some time.
SickOfTheOnePct
(8,710 posts)to a mail-in ballot until Election Day keep anyone from voting twice?
In Virginia, we process and count our mail-in ballots as they arrive, and thats how we ensure no one can vote twice.
When a voter shows up on Election Day, they are checked in on the poll pad. If it says ballot issued, they can a) drop the absentee ballot into the drop box b) surrender the absentee ballot to us and vote a regular ballot or c) vote a provisional ballot. If it says in-process, received, or in machine, they can only vote a provisional ballot.
The first returns that come out in Virginia are the mail-in ballots and early in-person numbers, which are normally released within minutes of the polls closing at 7 pm.
I would think states with heavy mail-in volume would get their legislatures to change the laws so that they could process ballots as they arrive.
LetMyPeopleVote
(179,823 posts)Voting is no longer all on one day. We have early vote and vote by mail in Texas. Texas allows the election office to count the votes in advance. I was poll watching in the election office and the ballot board was still counting vote by mail ballots at 8:30 PM. The county did release early voting results by 9:30.
I may be poll watching a meeting on Monday for military and overseas ballots and a good number of provisional ballots.