Texas voter says he waited 'a little bit over six hours' on Super Tuesday to vote

[Tigers!]

I like to be awkward and use roman numerals for voting BTL (below the line) in Aust. senate elections.

Keeps the counters awake.

 

[KeepTalking]

Voting machines are bloody stupid.

ya.. mail-in ballots work perfectly and make voting 100% available to anyone that has a permanent mailing address.

I don't think I will use any form of early voting until we go to ranked choice, or some method like that. I would have voted for Warren in the primary, but she just dropped out, and Illinois votes in just over a week, so now I am switching to Bernie. If I were to mail in my ballot, I might be voting for someone who is no longer in the race. That shouldn't be as much of a problem in the general election, but I seldom encounter a line at my polling place, and if I do it is just a matter of a few minutes. I also have a flexible work schedule, so it is never a problem for me to show up at the polls as soon as they open in the morning.

 

[Gun Nut]

selling a vote versus disenfranchising voters.. hmm.. not a hard choice for me.
Theoretically, anything is for sale. The, "It might make selling things easier" concern is not anywhere on my radar...for anything.

The easy solution isn't always the best one.

ain't that the truth. Mail in ballots are best, though. Sometimes easy solutions are the best... actually, in Engineering solutions, the easiest answer is in fact usually the best.

 

[Gun Nut]

Voting machines are bloody stupid.

ya.. mail-in ballots work perfectly and make voting 100% available to anyone that has a permanent mailing address.

I don't think I will use any form of early voting until we go to ranked choice, or some method like that. I would have voted for Warren in the primary, but she just dropped out, and Illinois votes in just over a week, so now I am switching to Bernie. If I were to mail in my ballot, I might be voting for someone who is no longer in the race. That shouldn't be as much of a problem in the general election, but I seldom encounter a line at my polling place, and if I do it is just a matter of a few minutes. I also have a flexible work schedule, so it is never a problem for me to show up at the polls as soon as they open in the morning.

totally agree.. I was explaining how, in Colorado (as it should be everywhere), you COULD mail in your ballot up to a month early.. but you can also mail it in ON election day.. or drop it off at any one of many locations. My ballot was filled out on election day, and dropped off at like 6:00 PM at one of the drop off locations that was a 10 minute walk from my house... there was no line at the big steel white with blue and red box with the slot I put my ballot in. If I wanted to, I could use the tare-off tab (that also serves as an "I voted sticker") to lookup the status of my ballot online... it only reveals "not received" "received" or "counted"... as a confirmation that your vote was actually counted.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

selling a vote versus disenfranchising voters.. hmm.. not a hard choice for me.
Theoretically, anything is for sale. The, "It might make selling things easier" concern is not anywhere on my radar...for anything.

The easy solution isn't always the best one.

ain't that the truth. Mail in ballots are best, though. Sometimes easy solutions are the best... actually, in Engineering solutions, the easiest answer is in fact usually the best.

And the best solution is typically not the easiest one.

I wish voting was mandatory. If it was you wouldn't have six hour waits just to vote. The reason we have six hour waits is precisely because people don't have to vote.

 

[Treedbear]

selling a vote versus disenfranchising voters.. hmm.. not a hard choice for me.
Theoretically, anything is for sale. The, "It might make selling things easier" concern is not anywhere on my radar...for anything.

The easy solution isn't always the best one.

ain't that the truth. Mail in ballots are best, though. Sometimes easy solutions are the best... actually, in Engineering solutions, the easiest answer is in fact usually the best.

Having served as an Engineering Aid for 30 years and been tasked with implementing many designs by dozens of engineers (including work on the HST primary and secondary mirrors) I've observed that what appears to be the simplest solution ain't always so. Don't confuse most expedious with best.

 

[Gun Nut]

Unless "easy" is a disqualifier in and about itself, the point that the fact that sometimes some things are not done best with easy solutions eludes me.

What, exactly, about this particular "easy" solution, is not better than your particular State's existing solution? Or is it that "Easy" is itself the issue.. that voting should be made "not easy" by design.

 

[Treedbear]

Unless "easy" is a disqualifier in and about itself, the point that the fact that sometimes some things are not done best with easy solutions eludes me.

What, exactly, about this particular "easy" solution, is not better than your particular State's existing solution? Or is it that "Easy" is itself the issue.. that voting should be made "not easy" by design.

Your first point was that it was easy. Second point that it was best. I took that to mean it was both easier to vote and easier to choose the mail-in voting solution as a way to encourage wider voter participation. And I already pointed out why I think wide-spread mail-in voting would be dangerous. It may be very convenient and it might seem to be problem free. But I think it's also a compromise on the integrity of elections in general. And I believe a better and more secure solution is to limit mail-in voting to special cases while at the same time making in-person voting more accessible using a system something like what I described. If that's impossible to do because of corrupt government or funding limitations then mail-in voting will also end up being exploited to those ends.

 

[Gun Nut]

Unless "easy" is a disqualifier in and about itself, the point that the fact that sometimes some things are not done best with easy solutions eludes me.

What, exactly, about this particular "easy" solution, is not better than your particular State's existing solution? Or is it that "Easy" is itself the issue.. that voting should be made "not easy" by design.

Your first point was that it was easy. Second point that it was best. I took that to mean it was both easier to vote and easier to choose the mail-in voting solution as a way to encourage wider voter participation. And I already pointed out why I think wide-spread mail-in voting would be dangerous. It may be very convenient and it might seem to be problem free. But I think it's also a compromise on the integrity of elections in general. And I believe a better and more secure solution is to limit mail-in voting to special cases while at the same time making in-person voting more accessible using a system something like what I described. If that's impossible to do because of corrupt government or funding limitations then mail-in voting will also end up being exploited to those ends.

Ya, I understand your point.. it's valid.. selling votes - gotcha.. my response to that was one of lack of concern. I can rent out my identity for someone else to show up in person and vote under my identity almost as easily as selling them my mail-in ballot. In either case, all I have to do is not attempt to vote myself, and the purchaser of my vote will need to figure out how they are going to pass themselves off as me... with mailin, that's certainly a little bit easier. "so what", I say.
Others that criticized this means of voting did so on the grounds of it being easier disqualifies it as better because they can think of something that has an easier solution that is not better... to which I say "that's a pretty useless observation".

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Unless "easy" is a disqualifier in and about itself, the point that the fact that sometimes some things are not done best with easy solutions eludes me.

What, exactly, about this particular "easy" solution, is not better than your particular State's existing solution? Or is it that "Easy" is itself the issue.. that voting should be made "not easy" by design.

Your first point was that it was easy. Second point that it was best. I took that to mean it was both easier to vote and easier to choose the mail-in voting solution as a way to encourage wider voter participation. And I already pointed out why I think wide-spread mail-in voting would be dangerous. It may be very convenient and it might seem to be problem free. But I think it's also a compromise on the integrity of elections in general. And I believe a better and more secure solution is to limit mail-in voting to special cases while at the same time making in-person voting more accessible using a system something like what I described. If that's impossible to do because of corrupt government or funding limitations then mail-in voting will also end up being exploited to those ends.

Ya, I understand your point.. it's valid.. selling votes - gotcha.. my response to that was one of lack of concern. I can rent out my identity for someone else to show up in person and vote under my identity almost as easily as selling them my mail-in ballot.

We have to use photo ID to vote.

How is the integrity of a mail-in vote guaranteed? There must be some accounting process that guards against the kind of fraud that is discouraged with a photo ID.

 

[Treedbear]

Unless "easy" is a disqualifier in and about itself, the point that the fact that sometimes some things are not done best with easy solutions eludes me.

What, exactly, about this particular "easy" solution, is not better than your particular State's existing solution? Or is it that "Easy" is itself the issue.. that voting should be made "not easy" by design.

Your first point was that it was easy. Second point that it was best. I took that to mean it was both easier to vote and easier to choose the mail-in voting solution as a way to encourage wider voter participation. And I already pointed out why I think wide-spread mail-in voting would be dangerous. It may be very convenient and it might seem to be problem free. But I think it's also a compromise on the integrity of elections in general. And I believe a better and more secure solution is to limit mail-in voting to special cases while at the same time making in-person voting more accessible using a system something like what I described. If that's impossible to do because of corrupt government or funding limitations then mail-in voting will also end up being exploited to those ends.

Ya, I understand your point.. it's valid.. selling votes - gotcha.. my response to that was one of lack of concern. I can rent out my identity for someone else to show up in person and vote under my identity almost as easily as selling them my mail-in ballot. In either case, all I have to do is not attempt to vote myself, and the purchaser of my vote will need to figure out how they are going to pass themselves off as me... with mailin, that's certainly a little bit easier. "so what", I say.
Others that criticized this means of voting did so on the grounds of it being easier disqualifies it as better because they can think of something that has an easier solution that is not better... to which I say "that's a pretty useless observation".

Sometimes easier is better. The system where I live is now much simpler than it was with the clunky mechanical machines that were replaced by a simple machine that reads your paper ballot. It's simpler, faster, less expensive, and more secure. Simple and easy. As simple as possible, but no simpler.

 

[bilby]

I like to be awkward and use roman numerals for voting BTL (below the line) in Aust. senate elections.

Keeps the counters awake.

I did see a Reps paper completed using Roman numerals at the 2019 election; But no BTL senate papers, at least not at my booth. You would need very small handwriting, and a very sharp pencil, to legibly fit "LXXXIII" into a box

There's some rather impressive artwork on some of the informal papers (although it tends to the scatalogical).

 

[bilby]

ain't that the truth. Mail in ballots are best, though. Sometimes easy solutions are the best... actually, in Engineering solutions, the easiest answer is in fact usually the best.

And the best solution is typically not the easiest one.

I wish voting was mandatory. If it was you wouldn't have six hour waits just to vote. The reason we have six hour waits is precisely because people don't have to vote.

Voting is mandatory.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

Voting machines are bloody stupid.

ya.. mail-in ballots work perfectly and make voting 100% available to anyone that has a permanent mailing address.

I don't think I will use any form of early voting until we go to ranked choice, or some method like that. I would have voted for Warren in the primary, but she just dropped out, and Illinois votes in just over a week, so now I am switching to Bernie. If I were to mail in my ballot, I might be voting for someone who is no longer in the race. That shouldn't be as much of a problem in the general election, but I seldom encounter a line at my polling place, and if I do it is just a matter of a few minutes. I also have a flexible work schedule, so it is never a problem for me to show up at the polls as soon as they open in the morning.

I voted early, something here in Texas available to citizens over 65 years of age. My brother elected to wait and vote in person. He can walk to his polling site. That polling station was closed. So he had to get into his car and drive to a distant polling site. He had to stand in line 5 hours to vote. He lives in a heavily Hispanic neighorhood. Voter caging, voter discouragement et al, thank to the GOP. He swore he would never make that mistake again. From here on out, he will join me in voting by mail.

 

[Old Woman in Purple]

ain't that the truth. Mail in ballots are best, though. Sometimes easy solutions are the best... actually, in Engineering solutions, the easiest answer is in fact usually the best.

And the best solution is typically not the easiest one.

I wish voting was mandatory. If it was you wouldn't have six hour waits just to vote. The reason we have six hour waits is precisely because people don't have to vote.

Voting is mandatory.

It isn't in the USA, tho I really wish it was!

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Voting is mandatory.

It isn't in the USA, tho I really wish it was!

If voting was mandatory states would have to clean up their acts. It amazes me that our most foundational right, the very basis of our democracy, is treated with such disregard.

 

[Gun Nut]

Ya, I understand your point.. it's valid.. selling votes - gotcha.. my response to that was one of lack of concern. I can rent out my identity for someone else to show up in person and vote under my identity almost as easily as selling them my mail-in ballot.

We have to use photo ID to vote.

How is the integrity of a mail-in vote guaranteed? There must be some accounting process that guards against the kind of fraud that is discouraged with a photo ID.

a signature check is performed. If the signature does not match, a notice is sent to the person that allegedly voted. They can respond that they sent in a ballot or not... if not, there was fraud. if so, the vote is counted.

 

[PyramidHead]

Also, the second most populous county in TX found 44 USB drives of votes that were never counted, comprising 10% of the total. Seems bad

Dallas County Elections Administrator Toni Pippins-Poole discovered her office did not count about 10% of the ballots that voters cast on Super Tuesday.

She is now asking a court to let her conduct a manual recount of the votes, after she discovered 44 thumb drives containing ballots that were not included in the final results.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Also, the second most populous county in TX found 44 USB drives of votes that were never counted, comprising 10% of the total. Seems bad

Dallas County Elections Administrator Toni Pippins-Poole discovered her office did not count about 10% of the ballots that voters cast on Super Tuesday.

She is now asking a court to let her conduct a manual recount of the votes, after she discovered 44 thumb drives containing ballots that were not included in the final results.

That needs to start happening in legislatures, senates and juries across the country. Maybe then voting will get the attention it deserves. A congressman's vote is pretty imortant, important enough that there is never a mistake in tabulating a vote. It shouldn't be any different for Joe Shmidlap living on 4th Street, but it is. It's shameful considering how important voting is. If ten percent of texas voters didn't vote because they said, "My vote doesn't matter" they would be correct.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Democrats have been hoping they can win Texas and it would change the map in terms of electoral politics risk. So, like if they could get Texas, they could still lose some of the swing states where Trump won last time. The fact that there are these persistent problems including the one mentioned above of 10% of the vote missing (??!!!!!) is not a good sign. The urban areas are exactly where Democrats should do better in vote counts but it's also where most of these problems are. They have to do a better job.