Oregon: How do you like your voting system? (nt)

[Eric J in MN]

nt

[cliss]

1. It's been great.

We got our ballots in the mail. A few days later, the voters pamphlet arrived. (long before the election). We took our time; went over the issues, discussed them over dinner. Decided to go the Democratic party line on most of them but not all.

Filled in the boxes, voted for John Kerry. Mailed in our ballot.

No problems, no standing in line. Oregon went blue, by the way.

[sandnsea]

2. Stupendous

I got my ballot, filled it out, and RAN to the drop box and plopped it in. You can mail or drop it off. I'm on a crusade to get mail-in across the country.

AND registrations with carbon copy receipts. With the group and representative signature. Groups doing voter drives must keep the representative names and signatures on file, maybe even send them into the state. We've got to fix registration too.

[insanity]

3. its awesome

You get voters pamphlets with paid endorsements for and against every measure, then you get a candidate statement for each candidate. You also get the full text of every measure, and can read it while you vote. It makes informed decsisions much easier.

[Ducks In A Row]

4. it's wonderful. no lines, verifiable, recountable

with firm rules about signature certification including contacting the voter to fix any problem.


we work hard to make sure everyone who wants to, can vote

[Eric J in MN]

5. So they check if your signature looks like the one on file, and

if not, they call you?

[Ducks In A Row]

6. yes, they call, or they write, or someone from your party gets in touch

it's in the law they have to get it resolved, and if your vote isn't counted, your name isn't taken off the confirming lists the party get.

The rules are strict about who has to be there to resolve signatures that have problems.

We don't have lots of problems with that because our officials have lots of people looking over their shoulders.

Same rethugs are always trying to get rid of it because it lets ALL of Oregonians vote. We have over 81% voting this time.

[Eric J in MN]

8. With a Democratically controlled state legislature,

it doesn't sound like the Republicans will succeed in hurting your system.

[Ducks In A Row]

9. with a fair system like this, they will not get the chance

and we will never let them screw it up. Luckily we have the examples of what Ohio and Florida are like to guide us now.

[depakid]

7. Easy to get a replacement ballot

in the event yours is lost or stolen. Had to do that once- expected a hassle, and it was all good with one 5 minute phone call. B-)

[Ducks In A Row]

10. it really amazing, isn't it?

all the reports I've heard of what's going on in the other states, and here it's no hassle.

Why, it's as if our election officals really believe people have the right to vote!

:)

[Eric J in MN]

11. Voting also went well in Minnesota, which uses

optical-scan ballots and has Election Day registration at the polls.

People can't vote by mail in Minnesota unless they say they have an excuse.

[oneold1-4u]

21. Excuses for absentee ballots

When they got high enough in OR someone said: Why not all? and no one will have an excuse not to vote. 80% of those registered may even be a record over all states!

[stevedeshazer]

12. It works, should be a national model

Two weeks to vote

No lines, unless you wait until the last minute, and if you do, your vote still counts

Verifiable paper trail

Thirty-seven cent poll tax, free if you drop it off at Elections dept

80% voter "turnout", um, return rate?

[kostya]

13. Can't understand why everyone doesn't do it this way.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. I loved it

If there was a complicated ballot, you could have your voter's pamphlet with you as you filled it out so that you could remember whether John Doe or Richard Roe was the judge who sounded like a freeper.

My only argument with Oregon was the initiative system. If I had been Empress of Oregon, I would have banned all paying of petition gatherers, not just paying them by the hour. My feeling is that if a petition drive that can't attract volunteers, then it's not the voice of the people.

There were too many "professional" petition companies backed mostly by cranky rightwing millionaires.

[insanity]

15. besides the paid petition people it works

The Oregon Plan is a good model:
Intititive
Referendum
Recall

if we got rid of paid petioners the true voice of the people could be heard. Thats what was wrong with measure 36, it was an out of state coalation that flooded Oregon.

[Left Brain]

16. There are kinks, tho.

My daughter got married this year and ended up with two ballots, one in her maiden name, one in her married name. Not sure what would have happened there if she hadn't been an honest Dem and pointed out the mistake.

[oneold1-4u]

17. So many years

Vote by mail was the best thing to happen to OR. Some years the primaries were wet and stormy, and Nov. often had snow storms to have to go out in, to drive several miles, to both register and vote.
Now one can register at hundreds of places locally and EVERY ballot arrives at your address with plenty of time make up your mind (change it too) and then mark it with a #2 pencil. These ballots are read with pretty much infallible machines, because they are the same type that have been used for years by schools, businesses, military for many types of simple testing.
It may not be totally infallible but in 3 score + years, nothing better has arrived. If the US had a ballot by mail election tomorrow for a re-vote on the two top candidates for president, (and only that) and the fee for mailing was 50 cents (13cents for election cost) I, for one, would sure hit my penny bank!!

[sandnsea]

18. Mark mine with a pen

Just so nobody gets confused about ballot marking in the future!

[oneold1-4u]

20. Using pen or pencil

The pen might work but directions on my ballot said #2 pencil only!
That is all I have ever been allowed to use on hundreds of tests.
I can now understand how some errors could easily be made on many ballots all over the country. Shouldn't have so much confusion!

[sandnsea]

22. I totally agree

It's assinine to have so many different systems. Four Billion Dollars. And this is the best we can come up with??? I think not.

[treading_water]

19. Love it!

I'm in Multnomah county and the elections office is on my way to work, so very easy to drop off.

To be honest though, I've lived in Oregon my entire adult life so I've never voted any other way.

Ought to be national.