[Novalug] On behalf of everyone in the IT industry - Sorry!

William Sutton william@trilug.org
Sat May 2 07:36:17 EDT 2015


That system sounds like a better voter fraud system than mandatory photo 
id cards for everyone.  It also sounds better than my precinct down in 
central VA, where you show up, tell them your address, and they mark you 
off the list (no signatures or finger prints required).

For that matter, if they took your thumb print down on the register, that 
would be a pretty decent replacement for a signature.

William Sutton

On Fri, 1 May 2015, Bonnie Dalzell via Novalug wrote:

> On Thu, 30 Apr 2015, Bryan J Smith via Novalug wrote:
>
>> On Thu, Apr 30, 2015 at 11:21 PM, Dan Arico via Novalug
>> <novalug@firemountain.net> wrote:
>>> Makes you wonder who really won some of our closer elections.
>> 
>> Just don't be "second" to vote using your own name.  ;)
>
> I am an election judge here in Baltimore CO Maryland. Here is what we do if 
> you are the "second" to vote using your own name.
>
> You are allowed to vote the provisional paper ballot. You do have to provide 
> some ID in that instance. That ballot will be counted if investigation proves 
> you are you and someone else voted fraudently.
>
> If you are the second person at the precinct to vote using your own name, 
> then we examine the envelopes with the signed voter authorization slips in 
> them and pull the one that was the first instance of "your" voting. That will 
> be going to the Maryland Attorney General's office for investigation of the 
> felony of voter fraud since whoever signed that slip committed a felony by 
> presenting themselves as you. Maryland does pursue these matters.
>
> Now the nice thing about having the little signed slip is that it has the 
> finger prints of the felon on it so there is a potential of catching them.
>
> SO it is not hopeless.
>
> Decades ago the check in was by a paper card system at the check in table. I 
> do think that electronic check in is an aid to preventing errors in check in 
> - the check in judge asks several questions which allow the voter to be 
> uniquely identified and then the voter is handed the voter access document to 
> review for errors and sign - so this reduces the possibility of miss hearing 
> a name and pulling the wrong 3 by 5 card and then checking off that you had 
> voted.
>
>
>
>> In all seriousness ...
>> 
>> <civics=on>
>> I.e., while everyone debates the Voter ID laws, I want everyone to be
>> aware of the "issues" if you are not the first person to vote using
>> your own name at your precinct.
>> 
>> E.g.,
>> - You could be denied the right to vote, since you allegedly already
>> voted, even if it wasn't you
>> - You may need to produce multiple forms of ID, to prove you are not
>> committing fraud, even though the first person who voted using your
>> name did not
>> - And even if you prove you are who you say you are, they still will
>> question if you did not show up prior, and may need to prove you did
>> not.
>> 
>> Why do I bring this up?  It happened to me over a decade ago.  This
>> was before Voter ID laws and later found out it is not uncommon.
>> I.e., it's more than just an accidental misrecorded checkoff at my
>> precinct that I voted prior.
>> 
>> In my case, I was detained for 15 minutes and had to show several
>> forms of identification, all while being threatened with fraud.  In
>> the end, after proving who I was, and signing a statement that I swore
>> I did not vote earlier that day, I was allowed to vote.
>> 
>> I've since switched to voting via absentee, so I cannot show up to any
>> precinct to vote.  At most I can drop off my absentee ballot at any
>> polling place.  Yes, this means there is my name and address on the
>> outside of the envelope, so my vote possibly could be "tracked."  But
>> inside is the ballot with no identification.
>> 
>> My state has since adopted some of the more lenient Voter ID laws to
>> protect against basic, walk-up fraud.  Only one signature and one,
>> state-issued pictured ID (very flexible in options), is required, and
>> they don't have to be the same.  But I still do absentee ballot for a
>> number of reasons.  One of the main reasons being that I can research
>> candidates, and make an informed choice.
>> 
>> Especially since I never, ever vote "against" any candidate.  And yes,
>> before you ask, I've turned in an empty ballot in the past after
>> deciding I liked no candidates.  The ink-electronic system merely spit
>> it back out, and the worker asked if I meant to turn in an empty
>> ballot.  I affirmed "yes" and it was counted as a ballot, but with no
>> votes.
>> 
>> I believe it is my civic duty to always vote.  Of course, I can omit
>> and refuse to vote for any office where I don't believe there is a
>> viable candidate, including showing up and turning in a completely
>> empty ballot.  They do count how many people do that, at least in my
>> state.  The systems are even designed for it.  ;)
>> 
>> Yes, those 1980-era ink-electronic systems actually check if you
>> accidentally marked 2 entries, and will report how many proper,
>> improper and omitted votes.
>> </civics>
>> 
>> -- bjs
>> 
>> 
>> 
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>                       Bonnie Dalzell, MA
> mail:PO box 9767 Baldwin, MD, USA 21013  |  EMAIL:bdalzell@qis.net
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