Sound Politics: Mail Ballot Horror Show(XXVI): The great mailbox hunt

November 03, 2006

Mail Ballot Horror Show(XXVI): The great mailbox hunt

Mail ballot booster Sam Reed reminds us that mail voting isn't so simple after all:

Mail voters who wait until the last minute to send in their ballot on Tuesday might want to go to an official election drop-off area instead of putting it in a streetside mailbox if they want to ensure it's counted, Secretary of State Sam Reed said Thursday.

Especially in areas where mail pickup is early, voters need to check to make sure that they haven't missed the last pickup, and not just toss the ballot in the first mailbox they see, Reed said.

It used to be simple: every polling place is open 7am-8pm. Now if you want to vote on election day you either find the right mailbox, stand in line at the post office, or drive to the county elections office. So much for reliability and convenience.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at November 03, 2006 03:24 PM | Email This

Comments

1. Poor poor Guppy, would you like some cheese with that whine?

Posted by: RobK1967 on November 3, 2006 03:30 PM

2. Even though I prefer the polls for the security and timeliness they provide. all mail voting will benefit Republicans. When those who are not all that serious about voting, but have been goaded by their union boss, pastor, teacher, local GOTV rep. etc. and don't take the time to make sure their vote is counted, it won't be.

That's a benefit to all citizens. If one does not take the franchise of voting seriously enough to follow the simple steps required to make sure their vote gets counted, then they really should not be voting.

Democrats love the word Democracy, but we live in a Representative Republic, and thankfully so. Voluntary disenfranchisement is a feature, not a bug.

Posted by: Jeff B. on November 3, 2006 03:53 PM

3. Someone better get down the the King Co. Courthouse and see how many homeless people there are today v.s. how many ballots get attributed to them Wednesday morning.

Posted by: Scott C on November 3, 2006 04:03 PM

4. ...but have been goaded by their union boss, pastor, teacher, local GOTV rep. etc. and don't take the time to make sure their vote is counted, it won't be.

You don't think the union boss would helpfully ask them to leave their ballots with him? No need to seal them--he could take care of that (after making sure his serfs had marked them correctly, of course).

Posted by: supercat on November 3, 2006 04:47 PM

5. Your ballot can be taken to your nearest polling place and put in a side pocket of the voting machine on election day.

Posted by: cindy on November 3, 2006 05:47 PM

6. Your ballot can be taken to your nearest polling place and put in a side pocket of the voting machine on election day.

Only in counties where they still have polling places...

Posted by: Stefan Sharkansky on November 3, 2006 05:49 PM

7. And, really, don't worry about the date. King County election workers can open it up to decide if it really is late.

Posted by: mykela on November 3, 2006 11:11 PM

8. Talk about hyper venting over nothing - you people are kooks. You have always had to mail you ballot postmarked at the latest on election day. Nothing new, same old rules, nice of Sam to point that out ..... Sam is a nice old guy, moderate and sane.

What a gaggle of vampires here in the muck.

Posted by: JACKIE on November 4, 2006 07:55 AM

9. Thanks jackie, we needed that...

Posted by: alphabet soup on November 5, 2006 12:31 PM