... to see whether it got counted properly for those items/persons I voted for.
I know that Debra Bowen had been working on this in California before I left there. Haven't heard if they got that working or not, but if it is done right (and there is proper ways to validate people with picture word validation, etc. to prevent bots from "polling" this site), then perhaps we could not only make sure we have the best voting system (vote by mail) to help people vote, but also the best way to check on how we voted too.
Speaking of the Secretary of State, I'm worried about the election here. Buehler and Republican Party I believe are focusing on this race to win in Oregon, as they don't have much to gain in many of the other races, other than the non-partisan (but really IS partisan) National Labor Relations Board chair, where we need to tell people to make sure that they vote for Avakian since they don't put a D next to his name, and he's the clear choice for Democrats. Some of you might have noticed this, but I've seen web ads for Buehler here on DU, on Blue Oregon, Daily Kos, and even on Brad Blog no less this last week.
Brown is facing two other challengers besides Buehler from those on the left, Wolfe from the Progressive Party which helped put the Marijuana initiative on the ballot, and Seth Woolley of the Pacific Greens. I met Seth and know him a bit and he's a good guy, but I'm hoping that these two don't help split the vote to hand the election to Buehler. I've also heard a lot of ads going after Brown by Wolfe on KPOJ quite a bit recently too.
Both Wolfe and Woolley may have some valid concerns about some of the things they are concerned about (getting progressive measures on the ballot, etc.), but I think that ultimately they shouldn't be pushing the envelope so much that Buehler wins. I know that Seth favors instant runoff voting, as do I. I often feel that third parties should run as a single issue candidate and that would be for instant runoff voting and use that as a means to get their support in a tight election like this. Then in subsequent elections, third parties could get a lot more of a voice and wouldn't hurt a Democrat who truly wants to work for progressive viewpoints on issues.
The stakes are high in this race! Not only is the administration of our vote by mail system (which from the sounds of it from Buehler he might even want to try and ditch it altogether, if not administer it in the spirit that Republican have been doing around the country with voter ID supression). A voting expert I know told me six years ago that his biggest fear for vote by mail is who administers it and that proper safeguards are in place to make sure it is done fairly and transparently to ensure votes are properly counted. A Republican in charge can do a lot of damage, as was done in California before Bowen took over SOS there.
But one more problem this might present too. If Buehler gets SOS spot, guess who is next in line for governor of Oregon should Kitzhaber leave. SOS! And I heard rumors that Kitzhaber might be even be looked at to be on Obama's cabinet for the second term if he gets reelected. Can you say Janet Napolitano from Arizona, and what happened when she left the governorship for Obama's cabinet to that Republican POS that is running that state now? Make sure your friends know how important this race is to ensure we don't have Buehler as our SOS.
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