I thought DUers who were especially into voting rights and election issues would find this interesting.
My question: do most County Elections do this and if so is it dictated by federal reqs, state or local?
My wife and I requested early ballots for a city primary held on Sept. 13 and received them a few weeks before the election. We sat on them for a while and then filled them out a couple days before the election. It was one of those "Vote for no more than three" things in a city council race and there were two Johnsons and I accidentally filled in the box for the Gooper Johnson instead of the Demo Johnson and so I just was going to go into my precinct voting site on the 13th and get a new ballot and vote there. So I went in with my spoiled ballot and I got to vote on a provisional ballot. I didn't even think about it being one of those notorious provisional ballots until right now when I got this receipt in the mail. I did have to check off that I wanted a receipt but still, is this normal. Yuma County Elections is HARDLY on the cutting edge of election reform, in fact they have been under CRD (Civil Right Divison) probation for decades because of repeated anti-voting practices. And please don't ask about the results of the local elections. Democrats used to be in control of EVERYTHING in Yuma County but that was only because they were DIXIEcrats. There was actually, I am told, not even an organized Yuma COunty Republican Party until the early 1980's and it was not until the late 1980's that they held a countywide or citywide elected office (I am told). Now, in the last five years since I have lived here they have taken firm control of city and county government. It is because of the national partisanship, there is an ideological relignment (i.e. conservatives leaving the Democratic Party and going into the Republican).
And please don't ask about the results of the local elections. Democrats used to be in control of EVERYTHING in Yuma County but that was only because they were DIXIEcrats. There was actually, I am told, not even an organized Yuma COunty Republican Party until the early 1980's and it was not until the late 1980's that they held a countywide or citywide elected office (I am told). Now, in the last five years since I have lived here they have taken firm control of city and county government. It is because of the national partisanship, there is an ideological relignment (i.e. conservatives leaving the Democratic Party and going into the Republican).
They slaughter us in local elections held on days other than the November general election day because only like 10% of voters vote and of course it is their 10%.