Under Pa.'s 87 year old election code, absentee ballots must be returned to the elections office by 5 pm on the Friday before the election. Absentee ballots received after that time are excluded, even if received before the election. Should that law be relaxed? State Rep. Tina Davis thinks so. In nearby Bucks County, she lost a state senate race against incumbent Sen. “Tommy” Tomlinson by a scant 74 votes. Because at least 216 absentee ballots went uncounted, she claimed her constitutional rights were violated. A Bucks County judge named Jeffrey Davis, not to be confused with Jefferson Davis, disagrees. He dismissed the lawsuit.
This question is the subject of a lawsuit by the ACLU. I understand there's a public interest in ensuring that every vote is counted. But in my view, there is an equally important public interest in a swift and certain count. When there are delays, as happened in Florida, public confidence in the entire system is undermined.
Today's one-liner: "The shortest way to the distinguishing excellence of any writer is through his hostile critics." Richard LeGallienne
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Friday, November 30, 2018
24 comments:
You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.
Yes, PA should relax the absentee ballot rules on several fronts. As a student studying outside the state, I have applied for absentee ballots in all 3 congressional elections I have been able to participate in, as well as some primaries. The current rules expect voters to have control over some things they just never will, namely the reliability and timeliness of the mail.
ReplyDeleteAs it currently stands, three separate things have to be mailed in order to vote absentee: an application for the ballot (which can be printed at home) to the county, the ballot from the county to the voter, and then the ballot from the voter back to the county. For both the county deadlines, a postmark by the deadline is not acceptable. The elections office has to actually receive the ballot or application for a ballot by the deadline. This means that you are just SOL if a bad storm or mix-up with the mail causes a ballot that should have arrived in plenty of time to arrive late, despite that being completely out of your control. On one occasion I never received an absentee ballot, despite mailing the application in plenty of time, and I have no idea whether that is because it arrived late, never arrived at all, or it arrived and a ballot was sent by the county but never made it to me.
There is no reason that any ballot that arrives before election day should cause a delay in results. After all, they still all arrive before the polls close and all the other votes have to be counted, and it can't take much more than three hours or so for one person to count 216 votes. I say it's worth the wait.
many years ago, My wife fell and had to be admitted to the hospital the day before election. Her surgery was immediate and on election day as she lay in the hospital bed she was deeply concerned that she wasn't able to vote. She had me contact the Northampton County Election Bureau and they asked the Court to issue my wife an emergency absentee ballot. I picked up the absentee ballot, my wife voted, and I delivered the ballot to the Election division. Voting is a right and a privilege that some people take very serious. Every effort and means should be taken to assure all voters the right to cast their ballot on Election Day. Three years ago, my wife received her citation from the Governor for voting 50 years without missing a primary or general election. Her father is a naturalized citizen who came to America from Hungary and never missed voting in an election. Don't change the law. Make it easier for people to vote, not harder.
ReplyDeleteMy wife's name is Julianna Seyfried
With the exception of Military on active duty, with a military address or APO/FPO all mail-in ballots should be eliminated. It's a major source of voter fraud, also unless an election is very close, many times mail-in ballots are not even counted.
ReplyDeleteThat's dumb. You have to apply to the county for an absentee ballot. They don't send you a ballot unless you are registered to vote. It would be easier to commit voter fraud in person.
ReplyDeleteRules are rules, get your shit together like everyone else.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a strong opinion on absentee ballot deadlines, but I would like to see some kind of early voting in PA. I leave home for my 45 minute commute to work before polls open. Sometimes I get called to work my second job just days before the election, too late to request an absentee ballot. I can't make it to my polling place on a half hour lunch break.
ReplyDeleteI'm still wondering, why do we even bother to make laws/rules, etc??????
ReplyDeleteAfter all these years, we'd hear arguments that there are those who haven't been able to get Govt ID to vote if we had to show it at the polls. Stop the excuses. My kid got sick and missed a friends birthday party. Maybe the party should have been changed to a date she felt better. Than another girl might get sick or be away on a vacation, than another at ballet practice the next date, or... Silly analogy but.....
There's no reason that votes that arrive before the election shouldn't be counted. This is ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteI would like to see election day made a federal holiday and early voting in PA. We should be making it easier for everyone who is eligible to vote.
4:37, the rule is that I can vote with an absentee ballot. You are asking for a more drastic rule change than I am.
ReplyDelete6:18, you are right that your analogy is silly. Attending a child's birthday party is not necessary to the proper functioning of democracy, ensuring that all who are able to vote have the opportunity to do so is. There is no reason to place more restrictions on absentee voting other than to restrict the access of some voters to the ballot.
ReplyDeleteA number of cases. I've heard this year. People who applied for the ballot weeks in advance, failed to receive the ballot, in time to returned it. One year I was out of state. I applied for an absentee ballot and didn't get the first one they sent. they sent me a second one. The first one showed up a week after the election
ReplyDeleteyes
ReplyDeleteNothing should be "relaxed".
ReplyDeleteI think there's a reason for the Friday cutoff.
I believe the absentee ballots received by the Voter Registration office are forwarded to individual voting districts prior to Election Day. I think it's then up to the judge in that voting district to actually open and count the ballot on Election Day. This way, the judge can ensure that the voter hasn't also appeared to vote in person on Election Day (yes, it happens).
So the Friday deadline allows Voter Registration to get all the ballots sorted and to the proper voting district. I don't think there would be enough time for the people in Voter Registration to deliver absentee ballots on Election Day if the deadline were moved to Monday at 5 pm. They're usually busy enough that day trying to make sure regular voting runs as smoothly as possible.
In any case, extending the deadline really doesn't solve some of the other problems mentioned. Things still get lost in the mail, whether the deadline is Friday or Monday. So some ballots still wouldn't be counted, even if the deadline were Monday. And as Bernie points out, further delays in results beyond election day would undermine confidence in the entire system.
I would urge anyone voting absentee to apply early, and follow up when necessary. Deliver your application and/or ballot directly to the county office if you're cutting it close (or just don't trust the USPS).
Anon 6:23 said:
ReplyDelete"I would like to see election day made a federal holiday and early voting in PA."
Both are bad ideas and un-necessary.
Early voting likely leads to uninformed votes. People might know who they want to vote for in one race, but not the entire ballot. So campaign workers in that one race might convince someone to vote for their candidate, but the voter might not really know who they're voting for in other races. That means that voter is either casting a vote for races they don't know about, or not voting at all in those races.
Similarly, certain information on a candidate might not come out until just before Election Day. Imagine if a municipal candidate is indicted at the end of October. That might not matter in places like Allentown, but it could make a difference in other municipalities where ethics still matter. And candidates should have the time up to Election Day to make their best pitches to the voters instead of having people close their minds early on. Many times the debates don't even take place until we get closer to Election Day.
As to making Election Day a holiday, I think most of us are able to get to the polls without taking the day off. It really doesn't take that long, and we don't need to close everything down to vote. We can vote and chew gum at the same time.
If you feel you need the whole day off, take a vacation day on election day. I don't need to be forced to burn an 8-hour holiday for a 15-30 minute exercise on what is usually a crappy day (weather-wise) in November.
From the founding of our republic, voting was not a major concern by those in power. Our system was not one that was very encouraging of citizen participation, only the "right" citizens. That is still true today. One citizen one vote should be a top priority in todays America. All these efforts to check this and that are voting suppression games played by the alt-right to keep poor people out of the voting booth. It has been that way since the beginning of our nation. Read a book not written by a Fox contributor.
ReplyDeletegovernment is in charge of election it is screwed up like just about every thing your politicians touch
ReplyDeleteBloodbath at The Call. I guess cheerleaders are unnecessary when the star player goes to federal prison.
ReplyDeleteAnon 1:53 said
ReplyDelete"One citizen one vote should be a top priority in todays America. All these efforts to check this and that are voting suppression games played by the alt-right to keep poor people out of the voting booth."
We can certainly agree on one citizen/one vote. That is why most people I know support Voter ID.
And before you tell me it's some game to keep people out of the voting booth, I'll tell you it doesn't seem to keep people (rich, poor, in-between) from getting things like cigarettes, certain cough medicines, health care, etc.
What we don't support is having non-citizens, those who aren't registered to vote, and those posing as registered voters steal our votes with their fraudulent ones.
Anon 2:30 said:
ReplyDelete"Bloodbath at The Call."
Please elaborate. All I heard is that Bill White took a voluntary buyout. Are there others as well?
Totally agree about cheerleading at the Call. But that goes far beyond one person.
"As to making Election Day a holiday, I think most of us are able to get to the polls without taking the day off. It really doesn't take that long, and we don't need to close everything down to vote."
ReplyDeleteDid you see the lines in places like Georgia? It can take HOURS to vote. And what about people who don't have a car and can't just vote on their lunch break? Parents of young children? Hourly workers who don't have jobs that provide paid time off?
First, yes. Everything should be done to make voting accessible and easy. The current system is in fact draconian. I would also note that not one legitimate evidence of voter fraud has actually been cited by anyone on here to state why absentees, early, etc. would be safe. Just a typical 'trust me, it happens" line.
ReplyDeleteOnly property owners should be allowed to vote.
ReplyDeletesay what you mean - "only whites like me should be allowed to vote", right?
ReplyDelete"say what you mean - "only whites like me should be allowed to vote", right?"
ReplyDeleteYou only put it those terms because you're Anti-Semitic.