Plan B Forum

I forgot to mention that I also have to sign one of the two registered voter lists the poll workers are using.

And when I assisted my mother with voting her absentee ballot, she had to specifically request it and it was sent to her by US Mail.  It was the same physical ballot as would be handed to me at the polling place, and it too had a marking on it indicating it was an absentee ballot in lieu of the voting order number, along with the initials of both the city clerk and what I think was the deputy clerk.  She marked the ballot herself while I stood by and acted as a witness.  Then, after marking it, it was placed into a dark brown-paper envelope and sealed.  On the outside of the envelope was a place for her to sign, and also the registered voter acting as witness (me, in other words) to attest that the person submitting this absentee ballot had marked it themself without any interference, coercion, or directions concerning how to vote from anyone else, including me, and then sign that.  And if someone DID have to mark the ballot for her (let's say she was legally blind, or unable to grip or manipulate the pen) there was yet another section for THAT person to complete and sign to certify that he/she had marked it in accordance with the voter's preference.  This was then returned to (in our case) the city clerk's office, either by US Mail or by hand-delivery to the clerk's office, which is what I usually did.

After that, it was my understanding that the ballots were separated, based on the address of residence of the absentee voter, into boxes for the various voting precincts and held, unopened, at the clerk's office.  On election day they were sent to the appropriate precinct's polling place, where they were then re-inspected for the correct information on the outer envelope, and then opened.  The ballot was checked for the appropriate verification marks and initials, and then fed into the voting machine by the poll workers, of which there were at least three present.  I must admit, in the interest of full disclosure, that once I had surrendered the sealed absentee ballot into the hands of the city clerk, I never actually witnessed any of the process outlined above — but there were enough articles in the local newspaper and on TV as to the care and feeding of absentee ballots that I feel 100% sure this was in fact the procedure and it was scrupulously followed.

So while there might be a possibility of election fraud by somehow getting one's hands on a sufficient supply of absentee ballots, it would involve a helluva lot of work and effort to do it in such as way as to not arouse suspicion and properly cover one's tracks.  I'd personally be more worried about someone, like the AG of Georgia, acceding to Trump's request to "find me 11,700 votes" and do it by having 12,000 or so ballots for the other guy suddenly disappear into a black hole or the Atlanta Triangle or something like that.

-"BB"-

Thank you to Meade for the well written and reasoned response which saves me having to write it myself.

I’ve been involved in elections since middle school, and as a legal adult I have served as a poll watcher, as a poll volunteer, and at one point as county attorney I was the legal consultant for the County Clerk who ran our local state and federal office elections. I also have a good friend from college who was a Secretary of State and has shared some of his experiences with me, including serving on the bipartisan elections oversight panel instituted by Trump, who then disbanded it when they found no evidence of voter fraud.

Our elections are generally very secure and the vast majority of American citizens of all political stripes who run our elections are honest and diligent and care very deeply about preserving election integrity.

But since this story was a headline on the DM this morning, I thought I should share it and point out that when, sometimes, a bad actor or actors tries to manipulate election outcomes by ballot manipulation, there are our courts available to rectify those wrongs, and they do so. They address wrongs and ensure fairness and transparency and accountability. Trump had 60+ opportunities to present evidence to courts about his election fraud allegations, including to many judges he’d appointed who had no reason to be biased against him. There simply was no credible evidence presented, period. The 2020 election was the most secure and transparent in our country’s history, a lot of people worked incredibly hard to make sure of that including the guy Trump fired for performing so excellently in his role and for publicly reassuring us that the elections were free and fair.

Wake up liberty, it’s not too late for you.

There is one thing about Speaker Johnson so far that does concern me. I am not sure of his willingness to back Ukraine in its struggle against Putin. I know that a country can spend itself into ruin; that’s what happened to the French as a result of their support of our Revolutionary War. Now don’t get nitpicky on me. I know about the French government’s failure to tax the nobility and the profits of the church and the crop failures, but it was the French government's inability to economically respond to the crisis that was the root of the trouble.

However, it’s very important for us that Putin does not win in Ukraine; if he does, he may turn his attention to us or the Europeans. Especially in the case of attacking Alaska, I don’t believe we could beat Russia. I know we have a superior Navy and Air Force, and we have the technology, but we don’t have the people. So, it’s a lot better for us if Putin loses in Ukraine. If you had to choose between Israel and Ukraine, I would support Ukraine for the same reason we had in World War Two. We had to choose between Nazis Germany and Stalinist Russia; we chose the evil of Stalin over the danger from a greater Germany.

You're delusional.

liberty wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 05, 2023 5:36 pm

I know about the French government’s failure to tax the nobility and the profits of the church and the crop failures, but it was the French government's inability to economically respond to the crisis that was the root of the trouble.

I can name another country that is in danger of falling into ruin and disorder because its "failure to tax the nobility" and "inability to respond to a crisis"...   So can you.

But instead of working to solve these problems, many of its leaders (and those who would be leaders) are too busy creating divisiveness and discontent while sitting in their own version of the Palace of Versailles and plotting treason to increase their power and control over the masses.

-"BB"-