With an ever-changing landscape around voting during the pandemic, it’s hard to predict exactly how rocky November’s election will be or what kind of chaos could be in store.
To wit, the state’s August election went off without any major hitches.
To be fair, the Wisconsin election was a primary and not all that highly attended, as most primaries aren’t. But it is a good dry run for when the volume is a bit higher.
I’m on a couple of political sites for Wisconsin and there’s a lot of discussion about making sure we know where are polling places are, when the deadline is for applying for VBM and where non-USPS dropboxes are for those ballots once they are completed.
My only question is, with the use of dropboxes, do the local clerks stamp the date and time of receipt (or at least the date of receipt) on the ballot in case there’re arguments (which you know there will be) about when the ballots were received (as in prior to or on the date of the election).
I’ve just been advised that I am now gainfully unemployed after next Friday, so I will be applying to be a poll watcher in my community.
Chicken Little
Hang tough, better days are coming…
A couple clarifications on Texas, one big and one small:
Although the Texas Supreme Court held that fear of COVID-19 alone was insufficient to qualify as “disability or illness” grounds for requesting a mail-in ballot, the court went out of its way to rule that any underlying condition that puts the voter at higher risk for the illness does qualify. What’s more, they left it up to each voter to assess whether the underlying condition is serious enough to qualify you for a mail-in ballot. Ain’t nobody getting prosecuted for requesting one if they have an even remotely plausible condition.
Texas only enacted straight-ticket voting back in the 90’s, when Republicans thought it helped them. Now they think it helps local Dems in urban counties (which it did in recent years), so they got rid of it.
So sorry to hear about the unemployment but good on you for making a silk purse from a sow’s ear by volunteering.
How about some more goats? Always good for the soul…
That rooster had more wits than Toddler in Chief.
I did actually discuss with dear Hubby and the farm folks about taking an extended time out at the farm, since (once I go there) I have to quarantine for 14 days, per CT State law. Then I interviewed for and got the cashier’s job at Target this week, so that probably won’t work now.
There was quite a bit of discussion as to how this would’ve worked for my going out there - much more difficult than it was six weeks ago when I went at the end of June.
If it helps, I tune in to the farm every now and then. And certainly do enjoy your posting pics…
Glad to have you as a part of the ‘village’!!! Even if you don’t comment, you’re still always welcome, but they’re a great group of folks and are highly supportive.
Yeah, I follow them, even though I haven’t as yet been active… although I’m trying to figure out about getting some of their soap here (smile).
My sister in law got me some body lotion and shower stuff (lots of peppermint!) from a goat farm in Holland. Soap would also nice… 
Let me add to Wisconsin’s handling of the absentee ballotts. Some cities, mine included, run the return envelope through the postage meter. The USPS does not (generally) postmark metered mail, so… In addition, in the April primary, some post offices used a postmark that did not have a date on it. Wisconsin Elections Commission put out instructions on Absentee Ballot Return Options to Wisconsin County and Municipal clerks and Milwaukee (City and County) Election Commission. The US Elections Assistance Commission did as well.
Our city has been very good about getting the information about early and absentee voting out to people. I know that’s not the case all over the state, unfortunately.
NYET…
Many of the sorting machines have been removed and will not be reinstalled in critical swing states:
59 in Florida
58 in Texas
34 in Ohio
30 in Pennsylvania
26 in Michigan
15 in North Carolina
12 in Virginia
12 in Wisconsin
11 in Georgia.
(This data was provided to Mother Jones by Jacob Bogage and Christopher Ingraham of the Washington Post , who have detailed removal of the machines.)
Would be nice to know how prepped Arizona is…
Btw… I have no idea, as a retired scientist who was into biochem/physiology and bird watching as a devoted avocation, what sort of critter this is in the image.
Daughter is making all the soap by hand. She’s doing an unbelievable job with it - some really great stuff.
This is her new Rose Gold soap she made earlier this week - took her four hours to make (in contrast with just one or 1-1/2 for the others):
Oh, I know - I’ve been through this before (in November, I will have been in this consulting career for 25 years). In the run up to wars and in the run up to elections, many are nervous about starting up new projects. The pandemic and all the layoffs are preventing folks from getting serious about new projects, in addition to the election.
It’s why I opted for the job with Target. I could be home for a while and that’s ok. My family laughs at me with the amount of money I squirrel away when I’m working, but it’s precisely for this reason that I do it.
Cleanliness is good…
She’s trying to have in excess of 2,000 bars of all her scents ready for Black Friday. The term ‘day and night’ comes into play, literally.
Yeah, I’ve been watching her making it. Looks fab!
My mom used to make her own soap. The bars were a tan/brown color . I have no idea to this day what she used but it’s what I grew up with on our farm. We traded her soap, since we had more than we needed, with an Amish family who’s farm was next to ours for exceedingly excellent apple pies. And in non apple seasons we got cream and whole milk from their cows. That’s the milk and cream I knew as a kid.
What a world that is lost.
I grew up in southern Ohio.
On the Amish family’s barn was their name and a date…1790. That is when they arrived. We came along to our place in 1816. Our farm house dates from 1830.
edit
This is a very emotional time for me as our farm is about to be sold. Like within a week. It’s been a 2 year long road to get to this point.
