Question regarding voting by Absentee Ballot

[DustMolecule]

My mother lives in Florida, she told me this morning that she just received a letter from the State of Florida stating that the vote she cast for the primary didn't count because she 'didn't have a witness'. :shrug:

Does one need to have a 'witness' for an absentee ballot vote? I could see some valid reasons for this as a practice, but if this is the case, is it made clear to people (especially older people) that this is necessary in order for the vote to be valid?

on edit: I put this in the Lounge, because I didn't think it was 'important enough' to go into any of the other forums.

[Lefta Dissenter]

1. first of all,

this is too important for the Lounge! Some people have the lounge blocked, so they'll miss out on seeing your thread. If our votes aren't counted, we're screwed, so it's crucial that people know where the loopholes are.

OK, I think that the laws and ballots for absentee voting vary from state to state. It might be interesting to check the State website or call the Sec of State's office (ha - good luck) to see if you can view a sample absentee ballot.

Particularly if anyone is planning on voting absentee in the GE, as I know many are in order to avoid paperless voting, everyone in EVERY STATE needs to knows what the laws are!

Perhaps someone would be interested in starting some sort of database, with the specifics for each state for the GE... Put it on a website? I'm thinking of something that would include not only the rules for registration, voting absentee, deadlines for apps, etc. but also for precautions to take and loopholes to avoid. Maybe something like this is already in existence, but it's worth thinking about.

[DustMolecule]

2. Yeah, I guess you're right - it IS important

and your suggestions for understanding one's state rules for voting absentee ARE very important.

The more I think about this letter she got, the weirder it seems. Like, how come she couldn't get the letter BEFORE the election, so that she could vote 'regular' if she wanted to? Why get a letter at all?

She's going to fax me the letter this afternoon so I can read it. If there's something of 'interest', I'll post it.

[Lefta Dissenter]

3. absolutely, you must keep us informed!

and you're right that it sounds so strange... did any of the absentee voters from the 2000 election receive letters afterwards, indicating that their votes didn't count? :shrug:

[ElsewheresDaughter]

17. in NY absentee ballotsa are NOT even opened never mind counted unles

the election is close....NY absentee ballots are NOT counted

[bluedog]

4. Florida absentee voter here

On the envelope that you send the ballot back in .........the voter has to sign and date.......it also has to be witnessed by a person 18 or older.....dated and sent in with the RIGHT postage stamp weight.I used two....

[DustMolecule]

5. Thanks.....that sounds reasonable.

*Gee Mom, read those darned instructions!*

[Lefta Dissenter]

6. thanks for moving this thread, Mods

and bludog, I'm going to repeat my question. Do you know if any of the disenfranchised voters from the 2000 election received such a letter after their votes were disqualified? I wonder if this is part of some 'election reform,' or what?

This is so scary. While her vote wasn't counted because she was missing the witness sig, the sec of state was wanting to count military votes from 2000 that were dated AFTER the ELECTION DATE!

[bluedog]

7. no I never received one

nor did my family that votes absentee.I have neighbors that also have switched to absentee and they have not received any letters..
Did your mom save the letter and who sent it out? If so I would like the name and address so I can check this out for you and your mom.And for curiosity's sake what part of Fl is she in?

[DaveSZ]

8. .

In reading the first post, I can already see a huge loophole for how Bush can steal another election on a technicality.


Actually is it true that the Dems were trying to stop military absentee ballots from being counted in Florida in 2000?

How is that any better than the pukes stopping black people from voting?

[Lefta Dissenter]

9. the absentee votes that the Dems were challenging

were votes that were dated after the election date! The repugs realized that they need to garner a few more votes to try to create some numbers, so they send out the word, and suddenly the military gets to rake in more votes? after the election is over???

That strikes me as being a lot different from disenfranchising voters who voted before/on election day and their intent in who they wanted to vote for was perfectly clear. (as in the 'overvote' ballots)

If you have any questions, watch "Unprecedented," the documentary about the 2000 election.

[DustMolecule]

10. Will do....

She saved it and should be faxing it to me sometime this afternoon. Will let you know the info once I receive it.

[bluedog]

11. okie dokie...

DustMolecule...will be waiting.hope we can figure this out.....

[ptosis]

12. Screw the machines use absentee ballots

If people who are registered actually VOTED on Election day then absentee ballots cannot be misused.

OK you are registered - make sure you vote or your NON-VOTE will be used without your knowledge !

I recomend mail-in your vote before election day and screw the machines.

Link below for each state absentee ballot application instructions

http://www.politicsnationwide.com/docs.asp?ID=32

No electronic voting system has been certified to even the lowest level of security standards.

***************************************************************

In Comal County Texas, an uncanny coincidence resulted in three Republican candidates winning by exactly 18,181 votes each. Two other Republican candidates outside Texas also won by exactly 18,181 votes.

Diebold software keeps not one, but two Microsoft Access data tables of voting results.The software uses the first table for on-demand reports which might uncover alteration of the data -- such as spot checks of results from individual polling stations.

The second of the two tables is the one used to determine the election result.. But the second table can be hacked and altered to produce fake election totals without affecting spot check reports derived from the first table."

All the voting machines used in the United States come from just three companies. The Presidents of two of them have been convicted of vote fraud and yet all state governments continue to do business. No audit trail anywhere.

******************************************************************

http://forums.delphiforums.com/2004election/start

[Lefta Dissenter]

13. THANK YOU FOR THAT LINK!

Link below for each state absentee ballot application instructions

http://www.politicsnationwide.com/docs.asp?ID=32

Everyone with websites should have this linked to their sites!

the rest of your post is too unbelievable for words...


edited to say, Welcome to DU, ptosis! :hi:

[ElsewheresDaughter]

18. absentee ballots in NY are NOT even opened never mind counted UNLESS

the election is close!

[newyawker99]

19. Hi ptosis!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[DustMolecule]

14. Here's the Letter

Dear XXXX:

Your Absentee Ballot with a Voter ID# of XX-XXXXXX was rejected on March 15, 2004 for the XXXXXX PPP election held on March 9, 2004 due to NO WITNESS.

Your Absentee Ballot Address is:

XXXXX
XXXXXX
XXXXXXXX

Very truly yours,



Supervisor of Elections

[Lefta Dissenter]

15. I still find it interesting

that they would send out such a letter. Are there ANY other Fla voters who have received such a thing?

Of course, I don't know the time frame involved, but if the letter had been sent out prior to the election, perhaps a voter would somehow have an opportunity to rectify technical problems.

That is assuming you actually want to count every vote...

[AntiCoup2K4]

16. Isn't this the same Florida that wanted to count hundreds of absentee...

...ballots, supposedly from overseas military voters, which weren't even signed, let alone witnessed?

[DustMolecule]

20. Kickin' this back up......

Does this have any significance or not? If so, how should this be 'addressed'?

[MoonRiver]

21. 2 and a half years ago we moved from one state to another.

We voted by absentee ballot in the state we left. We had to have a witness when we signed (can't remember if it was a notary). But I do think this is fairly standard procedure.

[DustMolecule]

22. I don't think the issue is really with having a 'witness' or not....

...but there are many issues raised on this thread. It's particularly important when there are a lot of people (especially on this board) that are interested in a 'paper trail' of their vote.

One way that is often bandied about to make sure there is a 'paper trail' is to 'vote by absentee' ballot. Well, how much do we really know about how to PROPERLY vote by absentee? How do we know how THOSE votes are handled/tallied? Are absentee ballots handled 'PROPERLY'? When are they opened/added to the tally? etc., etc. ARE they ever opened? (as suggested by one of the posts above). Where do all of those ex-patriot ballots go? Who counts those? Which state do they belong to?

I don't mean AT ALL for this to be a distraction/energy drainer from some of the real tough issues that THE PEOPLE of our nation face in the next several months, but perhaps it's worth giving it a look (and a lot of attention?) if we don't want another 'selection' in November 2004!

[MoonRiver]

23. We don't know diddley squat about any of it.

My husband and I decided to vote absentee because our vote had more of a shot of counting in our old state than the one we were moving to. But I am 100% sure that the paperless e-votes will be rigged for Pukes.