Question about voting

[pechelman]

Why dont more people vote by absentee?
I registered and have always voted by absentee, and its been great.

Absentee benefits;

Dont have to schedule time to vote or take off work or whatever.
Dont have to drive or travel anywhere to vote.
Dont have to wait in line to vote.
Dont have to feel "under pressure" to hurry up and vote
Dont have to figure out the ballot sheet on the spot.

Absentee cons;
You need to supply your own writing implement.

I mean really, is there something im missing as to why people prefer to goto polls vs absentee?

Register, get a big fat voting envelope mailed to your home, vote at your leisure and when you want, mail it in with prepaid postage, and laugh at the suckers who are waiting in line on election day. Seems this is about as good as it gets and as close as we might come to online voting for a while, and its been around for a while.

yea
i just dont get it

****
this posting was inspired by an NPR interview where the town mayor somewhere in BF Ohio? was advocating people sign up for absentee ballots this year due to the very long list of extra things on their ballot, lack of ballot machines, and the general fiasco at the last election which had similar issues. He said he was hoping for 1/3rd of the votes by absentee.

[TruckeeLocal]

Here about 8,000 of the 15,000 registered voters are either in mail-in precincts or have applied for absentee voter status

And the cons of absentee status are that it drives the politicos nuts that they can't control WHEN they vote, i.e. when receiving the ballot or close to the election deadline (Most happen to vote near the actual election).

[lemon boy]

It robs you of the physical act of going to vote.

It robs you of getting a cool "I Voted" sticker.

They only count your vote if the real voting is close enough where you could theoretically make a difference. :p:



Of course, my polling is the local catholic church and there is never a line and I can walk there in about 60 secs.

[MrZach]

Voting at my local polling place gives me a great excuse to get the heck out of work for a while and take a leisurely lunch. ;)

[FrankZappa]

Go to polls. My version.

There are no lines here.
I get a chance to visit with some of my neighbors I don't see too often.
I also get to see which ones are running the polls so when the results come out different than what I want I can blame them for "fixing" the count.
It's on the way home.
It cost a fortune to run those places so using them makes everybody feel a little better.
It keeps the poll people awake if someone stops by to vote during the 14 hours they have to work.
...

But I see what your getting at. I do mail in sometimes too.

[pechelman]

ill also add that getting an absentee allows the individual to know what theyre voting on beforehand and gives time for them to research it.

last time i voted i had no idea what half the additional things or people i was voting for actually were despite those little 2line descriptions.

maybe its different here in colorado though as FZ and LB are pointing out with the short lines. I mean, last 2 times ive been a voter, it was when i had residency in Florida (full of retards wrt voting as we all know), and in downtown Atlanta (nuff said).

[lemon boy]

ill also add that getting an absentee allows the individual to know what theyre voting on beforehand and gives time for them to research it.


Before the election you should receive complete information from the county as to everything that you'll be asked to vote on.

[PNWbrit]

Of course, my polling is the local catholic church and there is never a line and I can walk there in about 60 secs.

Multi-functional confessionals TM?

Pat Pending Diebold Corp

[Dirty Hoar]

Sounds like a good idea to me. So much that I went online and printed out the absentee ballot application. Filled it out... stuck it in an envelope... opened the drawer... shit, no stamps.

I was SO close!

[Summit]

No lines around here. Going in person has a good feeling to it. Also, people like to feel their votes are counted. Absentee ballots are sometimes not counted if they cannot make a difference.

[pechelman]

if its not close in the end, your vote didnt really "count" anyway
i dont see the difference personally

also, where do you see regulations about counting absentees?
im getting some mixed information on this that some counties do what you and LB said, and others count them regardless

sounds like the line issue isnt one out here
i just remember driving by huuuuge lines where i used to live

[TruckeeLocal]

Mail-in precincts are counted as part of the main counting process. True absentees are counted ... eventually but are counted quickly to resolve close races.

[concretejungle]

I'm registered as a mail-in voter and it works better for me. It's a rural area and I'd have to drive about a half hour past my house to vote at, what I think, is the closest polling place.

As for MonkeyMan's problem; mine comes with return postage.

[Jer]

I should really start doing this.

Truthfully, I have absolutely no idea where the polling place is around here. I've moved twice since 06.

[altagirl]

Our polling place changes every year, but it's either across the street or at most about 2 blocks away. I don't mind walking and generally there's never much of a line.

[hutash]

I keep meaning to vote by mail, but it actaully takes effort to request the ballot, so like the champion procrastinator I can be, I have just never got around to it. The poling place is on the way home, never crowded, et cetera. Besides it fun to pick up my democratic ballot version in my all republican area. It makes me such a rebel, just like James Dean.

[TruckeeLocal]

I keep meaning to vote by mail, but it actaully takes effort to request the ballot, so like the champion procrastinator I can be, I have just never got around to it. The poling place is on the way home, never crowded, et cetera. Besides it fun to pick up my democratic ballot version in my all republican area. It makes me such a rebel, just like James Dean.
You might want to rethink what it takes to be a rebel this time, what with the annointing that has come to pass :FIREdevil

[FrankZappa]

I changed my mind this time. I'll need to do it at home cause there's multi-page ballot and with all the homework/legwork required even with no lines the voters there will use all of their ten minute limit in the booth.


...Colorado potentially has one of the longest ballots in the nation....
...County voters will find 18 state issues...
...six issues for the City ...
...four issues from ___ school district ...
..."Voters will see all this plus 16 presidential candidates, senate and congressional candidates,
---> plus the local ones," ...

and who knows whatever else gets on there...

:eek: :eek: :eek:

[DharmaBum]

Somewhat of a sidenote, but it came out of a local radio story this a.m. about absentee voting. Seems the local registrar usually gets around 200 voter registrations in 5-6 months, but lately has been reporting up to 200 a day for several weeks. No idea what this means, just sounded interesting.





I hope it snows before the election.

[Aussie_ripper]

Cause I'm an idiot and preparing something months in advance escapes my abilities as a human. Sucks, cause I'm thinking WI will be a closer race then MT, but can ya do...

[timvwcom]

Cause I'm an idiot and preparing something months in advance escapes my abilities as a human. Sucks, cause I'm thinking WI will be a closer race then MT, but can ya do...

Ya never replied to my post in the thread you started on this... :nonono2:

I believe that the STATEWIDE rule for requesting an absentee ballot is


All persons wishing to vote absentee must request an absentee ballot in writing to their municipal clerk in the city, village or township where they are eligible to vote. The request can be made as early as the first day of the sixth month before any election. The last day to make a request in writing to have your ballot mailed to you is the Friday before the election. If the absentee elector wishes to vote in the clerk’s office, the deadline is 5:00 p.m. on the day before the election. The request can be on a special Application for Absentee Ballot form, federal Post Card Application form, or in a letter stating your name, voting address and the address where the ballot should be mailed. The elector should sign the letter. No person can request an absentee ballot for another elector. A request received by fax is acceptable, but the original request must also be mailed.

It needs to include;
- Voter's full name
- Address of the voter's legal voting residence
- Voter's ward or election district
- A statement that the voter is requesting an absentee ballot
- The address to which the ballot should be sent.


Now, knowing your age... I'd guess there is a good chance you are not REGISTERED as a voter yet. In person you can register in WI at the time you show up to vote... OR you can register to vote BY MAIL...


The application must be postmarked no later than the 20th day (3rd Wednesday) before the election. (For the September Partisan Primary, that date is Wednesday, August 20, 2008, and for the November General Election that date is Wednesday, October 15, 2008.)

More specifics here; http://elections.state.wi.us/faq_detail.asp?faqid=119&fid=27&locid=47

Download the form to register by mail here (fillable); http://elections.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=13380&locid=47

or here non-fillable;
http://elections.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=13381&locid=47

Your proof of residence can be any of the following;

The following constitute acceptable Proof-of-Residence if the document contains the information specified above:

1. A current and valid Wisconsin driver�s license.
2. A current and valid Wisconsin identification card.
3. Any other official identification card or license issued by a Wisconsin governmental body or unit.
4. Any identification card issued by an employer in the normal course of business and bearing a photo of the card holder, but not including a business card.
5. A real estate tax bill or receipt for the current year or the year preceding the date of the election.
6. A residential lease which is effective for a period that includes election day (NOT for first-time voters registering by mail).
7. A university, college or technical institute fee card (must include photo).
8. A university, college or technical institute identification card (must include photo).
9. A gas, electric or telephone service statement (utility bill) for the period commencing not earlier than 90 days before election day.
10. Bank statement.
11. Paycheck.
12. A check or other document issued by a unit of government.


Only think I could image that I can't account for here; if you are also an Australian citizen and would need to do some other citizenship work before you could even ask to register by mail, then vote by mail???

PM me if you need help, I think you CAN still get yer vote counted here in WI.

[Lizhnik]

From an economist's standpoint, it makes no sense to vote at all:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/06/magazine/06freak.html?_r=1&n=Top%2fFeatures%2fMagazine%2fColumns%2fFreakonomi cs&oref=slogin

If you go to the second page, it talks about the significance of actually physically going to vote (the Swiss experiment). I recommend quickly reading the whole thing if you have the time.

[David Witherspoon]

From an economist's standpoint, humans make no sense at all.

[Hugh Conway]

From an economist's standpoint, humans make no sense at all.

The understand Homo Economis just perfectly. Like Homo Soviticus, he's just a bit hard to find.....

[pechelman]

heard on the radio this morning

colorado has ~2.5million registered voters, of which, 57% are registered via mail-in

[RootSkier]

I go because it's the best place to score some grandma ass.

[YetiMan]

Our polling place changes every year, but it's either across the street or at most about 2 blocks away. I don't mind walking and generally there's never much of a line.

they do that in my district too. a bunch of places in 4 years of voting. the last time I was all over the place trying to find my precinct because, and this is great, it wasn't the precinct like 50 yards from my house, it was like a mile away.

I honestly think they do this because they know the LDS people will always have the beta on where to go, but a lot of us normals will get the runaround and then end up not voting.

[Sea 2 Ski]

I only do mail in votes when I know I won't be in town. Something about standing in line waiting to vote and being able to bitch about politicans with other voters that makes me feel good.

The to me the two actual advantages of voting in person are:
-You might actually encounter one of your local politicans at the polls stumping for votes. This is probably one of the few times you might actually meet them and they'll attempt to answer a question you might have.
-When going to vote in person is you get an idea of what voter turnout is like in your community. To me this is more important in non-Presidential years since then it is more about local politics. Since voter turnout really seems to be most effected by economic issues it gives you a little insight into how your community is doing as a whole.

I should probably also add if you walk into you local polls and find that it is a completely disorganized mess. Well you can sure as hell bet that everything else as it relates to government in your community is as well.

[pechelman]

holy hell that was a long ballot
the amnds werent so bad and took very little of my time last night
it was all the justices from the court of appeals, Xth district court, and supreme court that took forever
probably spent about 20mins on the amnds\prez\reps as I had a good idea about everything. most of the time there was spent shading in the boxes with ink.
Then another 2hrs or so trying to figure out everything else.

some the info i wanted was hard to come by, but ill add that i think a cool resource for everyone in all states is something called "project vote smart". just do a google search for it.

theres definitely not enough coverage, information, or resources on our courts here to make a really informed decision. They probably affect our lives and laws significantly and besides trying to read through all the court's decisions, and seeing who voted which way, its really hard to figure anything out other than if theyre well educated, what their experience is, and how old they are.


anyway, filled it out last night, put it in the s3cr3cy envelope, and found the closest drop off location which was on my way to work. I got out of my car, walked into the door, saw a big box infront of me with an arrow pointing to the drop slot saying Mail-In Ballot Drop Off, dropped it in, and walked out the door. Didnt even have a chance for someone to sticker me.


and sea2ski
i know some areas have laws against wearing or bringing any political type propaganda to the polls and will use that as a reason to get you to leave until you can come back without showing a favoritism or intent to sway votes.
Part of the problem is as you state, that this is "one of the few times....they'll attempt to answer a question you might have".
Whats keeping you from calling them up or writing them a letter or sending them an email the other 364 days in a year?

In a state where its been documented that over half of the votes are to be submitted by mail in, im not sure seeing the turnout would really even be representative of anything.

anyway
neithers right or wrong obviously
but i guess im lazy and like the convenience of the mail-in

[Tippster]

I go in person for the "I Voted" sticker, which I display proudly until it falls off.

[Sea 2 Ski]

h
and sea2ski
i know some areas have laws against wearing or bringing any political type propaganda to the polls and will use that as a reason to get you to leave until you can come back without showing a favoritism or intent to sway votes.
Part of the problem is as you state, that this is "one of the few times....they'll attempt to answer a question you might have".
Whats keeping you from calling them up or writing them a letter or sending them an email the other 364 days in a year?



My area has those same laws against political propaganda. It's all about distant from the actual place where you cast you vote most places. I've been a challenger at polls so I'm not completely ignorant about the rules. There's a reason a candidate is in the parking lot stumping and not actually inside the voting area.

As to answer why I wouldn't send a letter the other 364 days, who says I don't. For me I know that the letters are just as likely not to be answered by the actual candidate but by one of his staffers. I've had a lot of friends who worked for candidates and a major part of what they do is answer letters for voters. I don't want to be filtered.

I want my Joe the Plumber moment since I actually can see how a candidate thinks on their feet. To me it's much harder to disguise what you really believe when you think on your feet. Joe the Plumber is a pretty good example of what I mean. I can attend political town meetings during the year and accomplish the same thing. However, I don't always have the time and there might be issues that develop between the last town meeting and the election. The last town meeting for my Congressman was in Mid-September and that would kind of make any questions about the bailout hard to ask.

Oh, and to answer your question about voter turnout and mail in votes. The ratios don't change that much year to year so it's more of a rule of thumb. It definitely won't be a perfect measure and I certainly wouldn't try to compare different voting districts. I'm just saying if you've been in the same district a few years you can see the difference. Only caveat being if a local politico is in a tight race and sees the need to get out the vote.(But then again incumbents are usually in tight races because economic reasons or scandal)

I'm not saying a complex ballot isn't easier to understand at home. I usually take the Sunday paper that has all the ballot issues or practice voter ballot and at least look at everything before I go vote.