Earlier this month, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer found himself explaining to voters how and why the county “can’t just register Mickey Mouse or your dog,” to vote in Arizona.
It’s a shame that free and fair elections have to now be tabulated behind gates and fences because of numbskull MAGATS.
You can’t spell “crazy” without “R AZ”.
The steps they’re taking in Maricopa County should be studied and possibly duplicated in all the large counties in the swing states. There’s no question that the Orange Asshole (and draft dodger) and his Maggots will claim a “steal” if he loses the election, and try to foment a nation-wide rebellion. The best way to avoid this would be to have a soft law enforcement presence at the Tabulation centers,. and to require training classes for all “observers,” to avoid nonsensical objections.
All this stress on people working the system, all this extra money on security could be avoided if states vote like we do in WA with 100% vote-by-mail. It’s been proven to expand the franchise in our state, and it completely eliminates any voter or poll worker intimidation. We get two weeks to study the voter info pamphlet and make a decision, then the ballots go out through the mail or local drop boxes.
There could still be wingnut conspiracies about how the votes are tabulated, but because it’s done at a far remove from the voter and not in local tabulation centers like the one in Maricopa County, it’s less likely to draw this kind of attention and threat.
I know some people like the “civic duty”" aspect of voting in person at the polls, but it’s an antiquated system that harms people with work schedules or illness that makes it hard to get to the polls. and leads to potential intimidation and security threats like this. Every state should vote-by-mail, it just works.
completely? no, voters can still be intimidated, just in their own homes.
I’m in no way against vote by mail, I’ve been doing it myself since 2020. But you can’t say it’s without any downside. There will always be some voters who may find more freedom in a voting booth than at their kitchen table.
“We oftentimes see an increase in threats or actual physical incursions, when the misinformation increases”
Free speech requires speaking responsibly. Misinformation is irresponsible.
Arizonan here… fortunately not a resident of Maricopa county and it’s not as crazy here where I live in Tucson. It’s depressing and disturbing to see the people who feel entitled to intimidate voters and election officials, not to mention disruption of public meetings. For a while it was school board meetings, including the district I taught in, where groups who were not even local residents came in and interrupted a board meeting. I read that the Maricopa County Supervisors experienced a group of people who approached them and then refused to leave. Ugh.
DeJoy runs the USPS and that is a big problem.
Every piece of letter mail, ballots, must be looked for every day and that ain’t going to happen because of many in Postal management have no idea what they are doing and a shortage of workers who have not been trained.
Trust me, I know what I am talking about.
Okay, I’ll rephrase that as public intimidation. Domestic intimidation can still happen with family members telling someone how to vote. I think it’s still clear where the advantage lies between 100% VBM and voting in person, especially with regard to expanding the franchise, increasing voter participation. Which is why Republicans hate the idea.
We have drop boxes in WA state which eliminates the need for the US Postal Service. There is a drop box within walking distance of my home. But if the voter prefers to mail in their ballot, the postage is paid by the state.
Today’s Geography 101 lesson from Dr. Jones.
Well done.
Is it a larger problem than what we’re seeing in this TPM article? You can always drop your mail-in ballot at an official drop box if you don’t trust the postal system.
Here in WA you can also go online to the state elections web site and check to see if your ballot has been received and tabulated, which is a backstop against screwups in the postal system. No voting system is perfect. VBM is just the least imperfect way to do it.
And the same in CA. And they are not called “precinct” any more. Voting Centers. And opened longer.
(It was getting harder to get locations for precincts and volunteers to man them. Among other things.)
“Geography 101” today’s quiz.
What do Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota capitols have in common?
Agreed, but the Supreme Court is now hearing two cases where “conservative” states are suing the government for its efforts to mitigate the effects of blatantly false information that is being spread on social media platforms. Protecting our free speech rights is critical, but there are no absolutes. It will be interesting to see where the majority lands and more interesting to read Alito’s dissents.
As do we in Colorado, but the state still has to mail the ballot to the voter. If the USPS botches the first step, the return process is immaterial. We still have polling places on election day, so we have an alternative in place if your ballot never arrives.
ETA:
Colorado uses BallotTrax, “a free service that enables Colorado voters to receive notifications by phone, email, or text about the status of their mail ballots, from the time their County Clerk & Recorder mails the outgoing ballot packet, to when their mailed ballot is received and counted.”
Capitols have two-word names? Baton Rouge, Little Rock, Jefferson City, Saint Paul.
In WA, each county has a polling place that opens 18 days prior to the election and closes at 8PM election day.
Our Secretary of State has good information about voting on its webpages.
Frequently Asked Questions on Voting by Mail | WA Secretary of State
I also hope election officials are making contingency plans in case a MAGA-zealous person refuses to certify election results for no reason. This happened previously, but officials were able to eventually certify. Maybe make it illegal to falsely object when there is no indication of fraud? Dream on, I guess.