I've noticed that the Republicans are mailing absentee ballots

[JohnnyRingo]

To registered party members. (I have two friends that received theirs)

At first I thought it was an implication that the Dems would somehow try to cheat (!)
The more I thought about it I wondered if the reason was to ensure fewer non-enthusiastic Repub voters staying home on Nov. 2.

Another theory I have is that it will encourage repubs to vote NOW, before they have a chance to change their minds.

Is there an "official' reason for the ballots?

[gospelized]

1. the official reason

is so their votes count, since they have poll sabotaging planned.

[grannylib]

2. I am sure they are going to try...it's their only hope. They'll never win

a legitimate election.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

17. Oh I get it. So when the "terrorism" they keep warning us about happens

most all of their votes will actually be counted.

[Andy_Stephenson]

20. Bingo

we have a winner!

[JPJones]

3. They want to lock them in early

Cause they know it will be a bad September.

[seabeyond]

4. before they have a chance to change their minds.

this is what i saw sending em during the campaign while they were on a hate high

[napi21]

5. That could be a problem too!

Again, I can't recall where I read this, but in the last week or so, I read about the recent Florida vote for primaries where the Sec. of State was counting the votes for herself, and there were several thousand absentee ballots that were counted twice! This was discovered when they were doing a recount because of a dispute. I'm not sure if absentee is the way to go!!!

[LisaL]

11. Yep

Ms. Theresa Lepore, creator of butterfly ballot, did not get enough votes to stay a supervisor of electors even though ~ 6,700 absentee ballots were counted twice.
LOL.

[liveoaktx]

6. DId they receive the ballots or applications for ballots

In Texas, one has to explicitly ask for an absentee ballot based on certain criteria... and then you can't vote except within certain dates.

[GOPAgainstGW]

9. EXACTLY!! WHAT THE GOP IS DOING IN MOST STATES IS ILLEGAL!!!

AND SHOULD BE REPORTED TO THE LOCAL ELECTION BOARDS AND TO ALL THE MAJOR MEDIA OUTLETS.

[LisaL]

12. I agree

I looked at the rules here in OH and there is a set of rules that says you can vote absentee if you will be absent or sick. So, this in fact seems to be against the rules-they encourage people to vote absentee by sending them ballot forms even though these people will not be absent.
I hope somebody does something about it.

[Pirate Smile]

7. I got an absentee ballot application from the KE campaign and a

phone call from the state party asking if I wanted one (I said no because I will vote on election day) and if anyone else in my family needed one.

Have others gotten these calls and applications also?

[2Design]

8. most states you have to REQUEST a absentee ballot

I am amazed that someone is sending these out

[LisaL]

13. I believe they only send applications, not ballots themselves.

But still, you are only supposed to vote absentee if you will be absent or sick.

[2Design]

14. they have an application to apply to have an absentee ballot sent

[DaveinMD]

10. it isn't illegal

in most states to attach an absentee ballot application to a partisan political mailing. I do this all the time in my direct mail for Democratic candidates. The law on this varies by state.

[napi21]

15. It must vary by state. I Ga. I was specificaly told I could

man the table to register voters, but I could not have any partisan stuff there at all, and I could not wear my (at that time) Dean tee shirt. Now this was told to me by the Dem Party folks, but I'd bet that they were correct. We were VERY careful never to have any coordination with the candidate, and all that legal stuff.

[ISUGRADIA]

16. Republicans are not mailing ballots

to people. They are mailing requests. No party in the US can mail out "ballots", they are sent out in reply to absentee ballot requests parties print out and mail to their supporters.

In Iowa this happened all the time in 2002. I must have received 10 mailings with absentee ballot request forms from the Democratic Party. This is a perfectly legal thing to do UNLESS the state restricts absentee voting to those meeting specific criteria. In Iowa early voting for any reason is legal.

[xcmt]

18. Well, yes and no.

They're sending out and calling about requests. I spoke with my girlfriend's grandfather today (a Republican if there ever was one) and he commented that, despite declining an absentee ballot both by mail and phone, he was sent one anyway.

[ISUGRADIA]

19. In most states one has to sign to get an absentee ballot sent;

if he was sent a ballot and never signed for one, he should call the local election office to see if they can look at the signature on the request (if one is required in his state). There is always the possibility of forgery.

[efhmc]

21. Those are applications for ballots. Ballots can only be sent by the

county clerk.