Mail In Ballots and the Upcoming Election

[thyme4change]

I'm trying to figure out if I should un-request a mail in ballot.

Ugh

[Deleted]

There are calls for the UN to come monitor the US election. Never thought I would see that in my lifetime.

If Trump wins this election, this country is completely fucked. If he loses, we may become Belarus for a while. There is thinking this is the actual reason for the fortified wall currently being built around the White House...

I think, once again, it's prudent to stock up on things for the fall in case one chooses to stay home for an extended period of time - either for the massive public health emergency expected as COVID and flu seasons converge or in case of public unrest. By then there will be millions of people potentially homeless and starving...

[kadee79]

DH & I will be doing early voting in Oct. at the court house annex.  It won't be as crowded as our tiny polling place down the road...so we are driving to town rather than vote about 1/3 mi. down the road.  We can also spread out further at the annex than we can down the road.   Our polling place down the road doesn't even have a bathroom...they put a port-a-potty out for the workers there.  There is another one in the county like that too...it also gets the port-a-potty.

[happyhoix]

I haven’t been able to figure out why trump is so intent on killing mail in voting since two blocks that lean to trump- the military and older people- often mail in their votes.

I read today,though, that a lot of dems votes by mail in the primaries (probably because more of them took the virus seriously while more gopers were in “what me worry?” mode. )

So Trump thinks dems will stay home rather than go to the poll to vote, which means he’ll win?

I hope there is enormous angry backlash against this. Personally I’ll be bringing a sleeping bag and snacks if necessary to cast my vote.

[kadee79]

HH, take a comfy chair & a good book.  Don't forget the sun screen if it's sunny or an umbrella if rain is possible.  I'd also only take the ID I needed & not a whole purse to drag around.  I do that if I'm voting at our polling place down the road.

My gals down there (the workers) are going to miss me cause I normally take them treats...like homemade chocolate chip cookies, banana bread, oatmeal cookies, or some of my Amish Friendship Cake...they look forward to them.  

[TheOtherMe]

As a retired poll worker, I know we appreciated the treats people brought us.  

I had already decided I was not working any elections this year.  Then the pandemic hit and I would have quit anyway.  

I do trust the absentee ballot process in this state.  After all the training I have and the checks and balances on the number of ballots issued are strong.  We had to count the number of ballots in each package and account for each one at the end of the night.  If a ballot was spoiled, it went in a separate envelope.

In Iowa, we do vote on paper and then the ballot is ran through a machine to count it.  

I would be very suspicious of voting on a computer like screen.  That is not what happens here.  

[Deleted]

Aug 15, 2020 14:30:04 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

I haven’t been able to figure out why trump is so intent on killing mail in voting since two blocks that lean to trump- the military and older people- often mail in their votes.

I read today,though, that a lot of dems votes by mail in the primaries (probably because more of them took the virus seriously while more gopers were in “what me worry?” mode. )

So Trump thinks dems will stay home rather than go to the poll to vote, which means he’ll win?

I hope there is enormous angry backlash against this. Personally I’ll be bringing a sleeping bag and snacks if necessary to cast my vote.

Every time he talks about the election, listen to his words. 

He keeps repeating to his "base" that this election will be "fraught with fraud" and "no one will really know who won", etc... despite the fact that's complete and utter crap.

Faux News keeps trumpeting the same thing. They also keep talking about what a God he is without accurately reporting anything negative about his presidency, COVID, etc... Their viewers think the virus is overrated, only sheep wear masks, and Trump walks on water because their 401Ks are doing well and he's supposedly against abortion and pro religion. (which is just plain laughable)

He knows he will lose, and he's sowing the seeds for his base to fight back when he's declared the loser. They will think there was massive democratic fraud and Trump is actually the winner.

It's believed he will call them into the streets to fight for him. There are actually churches in the south telling their parishioners to arm themselves because without Trump they won't be allowed to worship. And, he's telling them those "undesirable poor (aka brown and black) people will take over their "nice white" neighborhoods.

Every day right now in Southern CA the gun stores are cleared out hours after they get in a new shipment of guns. Why is that? 

This has the potential to go really sideways. Like Belarus sideways. If people don't start paying attention.

Trump himself posted a meme the other night on Twitter that showed him "winning" elections for the next 50 years and staying president! 

[happyhoix]

I agree. I’m getting more and more concerned as trump gets ever more outlandish the closer we get to Election Day.

Suggesting we just not have an election yet. (Thank God even most of the gop shot that down). Saying Harris isn’t American and therefore can’t be Vp. And now getting his toady pal to make the post office run off the rails so if he’s winning he can insist they stop counting the votes on election night and declare himself the winner.

It’s intolerable to him if he loses, and he’s always cheated to win. Now he’s doing to right out in the open. Can’t we stop him?

[ners]

Just one small example of mail delay.  My birthday was August 12.  My friend card was postmarked August 10 arrived on August 14th.  My financial planner's card was mailed August 11 it arrived on August 14th.   

I was going to wait until my county mailed me my absentee ballot application now I filled out the on line form and am going to mail the application tomorrow.  I will drop my vote in the county drop box close to voting day.  I will always vote  One of the last things my sister did on this earth was to vote.  

[Deleted]

Aug 15, 2020 16:47:59 GMT -5 ners said:

Just one small example of mail delay.  My birthday was August 12.  My friend card was postmarked August 10 arrived on August 14th.  My financial planner's card was mailed August 11 it arrived on August 14th.   

I was going to wait until my county mailed me my absentee ballot application now I filled out the on line form and am going to mail the application tomorrow.  I will drop my vote in the county drop box close to voting day.  I will always vote  One of the last things my sister did on this earth was to vote.  

[Deleted]

We got three pieces of mail today.  None of them were for us.  

We will vote in-person, after they take our mail ballot (which we can't cancel and may never receive), fill out appropriate forms, etc.  If we don't get the get the mail ballot, we will have to file a provisional which is pretty much the same as "not happening" here.  

[billisonboard]

Aug 15, 2020 16:47:59 GMT -5 ners said:

Just one small example of mail delay.  My birthday was August 12.  My friend card was postmarked August 10 arrived on August 14th.  My financial planner's card was mailed August 11 it arrived on August 14th.   

I was going to wait until my county mailed me my absentee ballot application now I filled out the on line form and am going to mail the application tomorrow.  I will drop my vote in the county drop box close to voting day.  I will always vote  One of the last things my sister did on this earth was to vote.  

I was on the operating table at 7 am to have a stent placed following a heart attack and that afternoon was demanding that arrangements be made for me to vote before the polls closed that day. Did end up having a hospital staff person recording my choices on a paper on a clipboard. Not sure it was actually official or just them placating a crazy person.

[Tennesseer]

Aug 15, 2020 12:26:15 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I'm trying to figure out if I should un-request a mail in ballot.

Ugh

My thought here is if you do receive a mail-in ballot and you then decide to vote in person, you just don't do anything with the ballot. Save it as a souvenir.  As long as you show one vote only, be it in person or mail-in, you're good.

[Deleted]

Aug 15, 2020 16:05:57 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

I agree. I’m getting more and more concerned as trump gets ever more outlandish the closer we get to Election Day.

Suggesting we just not have an election yet. (Thank God even most of the gop shot that down). Saying Harris isn’t American and therefore can’t be Vp. And now getting his toady pal to make the post office run off the rails so if he’s winning he can insist they stop counting the votes on election night and declare himself the winner.

It’s intolerable to him if he loses, and he’s always cheated to win. Now he’s doing to right out in the open. Can’t we stop him?

Did the German citizens stop their leader and Trump's idol before millions of people died?

It's said he does a sort of brainwashing of his base by feeding them bullshit day after day after day and using State Faux TV to help repeat it. 

If I tell you something is amazing day after day, eventually your brain ties amazing and that thing together, whether it's true or not. This is why he constantly repeats his messages and so does Faux. If they repeat it enough, a certain percentage of people start believing it's true.

If Faux or the GOP would break from him in a massive way, I think there's a chance. If they don't, I think we have some seriously hard times coming this fall. 

There was a letter from generals the other day in one of the big papers reminding the current military they are required to uphold the results of our elections if he refuses to leave the White House or calls for violence.

If he loses, I worry about election day until he is removed and Biden takes over. He still has the nuke codes. He still has a lot of power. And, he's going to court accused of rape when he leaves office. He has a whole lot to lose and only cares about himself. That's a dangerous mix on a good day...

[Deleted]

Scariest of all, many of the police unions, etc... are all backing his presidency. He has armed backing...

Largest Florida police union backs President Trump: 'Tired of being a punching bag'

www.foxnews.com/media/florida-police-union-backs-trump

[Deleted]

The Left needs to stop with the Defund the Police bullshit until this presidency is over. 

I was watching the riots one night and a guy was shot. The same fools screaming about defunding the police were calling for them to come help and giving them statements afterwards. I wondered if they saw the irony of their evening.

It's time to fight for mail and fair elections. Two things that I don't think anyone would have ever thought necessary 5 years ago.

And, it's time for both congress and the US press to do their damn jobs.

It's time to stock up on the TP again ladies and gents...  lol 

[tallguy]

Aug 15, 2020 20:44:39 GMT -5 @shastasnewlife said:

The Left needs to stop with the Defund the Police bullshit until this presidency is over. 

I was watching the riots one night and a guy was shot. The same fools screaming about defunding the police were calling for them to come help and giving them statements afterwards. I wondered if they saw the irony of their evening.

It's time to fight for mail and fair elections. Two things that I don't think anyone would have ever thought necessary 5 years ago.

And, it's time for both congress and the US press to do their damn jobs.

It's time to stock up on the TP again ladies and gents...  lol 

To be fair, in that situation it would still be real police officers showing up.  "Defund the police" is a really stupid slogan for what they are actually trying to do. 

[thyme4change]

Aug 15, 2020 21:45:54 GMT -5 tallguy said:

Aug 15, 2020 20:44:39 GMT -5 @shastasnewlife said:

The Left needs to stop with the Defund the Police bullshit until this presidency is over. 

I was watching the riots one night and a guy was shot. The same fools screaming about defunding the police were calling for them to come help and giving them statements afterwards. I wondered if they saw the irony of their evening.

It's time to fight for mail and fair elections. Two things that I don't think anyone would have ever thought necessary 5 years ago.

And, it's time for both congress and the US press to do their damn jobs.

It's time to stock up on the TP again ladies and gents...  lol 

To be fair, in that situation it would still be real police officers showing up.  "Defund the police" is a really stupid slogan for what they are actually trying to do. 

"Reduce the responsibilities of the overworked police department, and support community based groups who are better equipped to deal with the complex problems that occur in our society" isn't that catchy. Hard to put on a sign.

[thyme4change]

Aug 15, 2020 20:11:10 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Aug 15, 2020 12:26:15 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I'm trying to figure out if I should un-request a mail in ballot.

Ugh

My thought here is if you do receive a mail-in ballot and you then decide to vote in person, you just don't do anything with the ballot. Save it as a souvenir.  As long as you show one vote only, be it in person or mail-in, you're good.

In my state, if you request a mail in ballot and then show up at the polls, first they give you a pack of grief, and if you convince them you are who you say you are, they give you a provisional ballot, which they only count if a race is really, super crazy close. Otherwise, it doesn't matter. Trump isn't going to wait patiently for every ballot to get verified and counted, and our conservative state leaders won't resist his pressure, and they will call it, even if the numbers may merit counting the provisionals.

[oped]

Aug 15, 2020 21:45:54 GMT -5 tallguy said:

Aug 15, 2020 20:44:39 GMT -5 @shastasnewlife said:

The Left needs to stop with the Defund the Police bullshit until this presidency is over. 

I was watching the riots one night and a guy was shot. The same fools screaming about defunding the police were calling for them to come help and giving them statements afterwards. I wondered if they saw the irony of their evening.

It's time to fight for mail and fair elections. Two things that I don't think anyone would have ever thought necessary 5 years ago.

And, it's time for both congress and the US press to do their damn jobs.

It's time to stock up on the TP again ladies and gents...  lol 

To be fair, in that situation it would still be real police officers showing up.  "Defund the police" is a really stupid slogan for what they are actually trying to do. 

Yet the polling shows nearly 80% understand what it means. 

[Tennesseer]

Trump defends the postmaster general, says 'I don't know what he's doing' amid outrage over USPS delays

President Donald Trump defended Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Saturday amid growing outrage over US Postal Service delays and widespread concern about the looming election.

Trump spoke to reporters at a news briefing from his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, but deflected when he was asked about DeJoy's decision to remove hundreds of high-volume mail-processing machines across the country this year.

"I don't know. I don't know what he's doing," Trump said. "I can only tell you he's a very smart man."

Trump defends the postmaster general, says 'I don't know what he's doing' amid outrage over USPS delays

[pulmonarymd]

Aug 16, 2020 7:23:46 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Trump defends the postmaster general, says 'I don't know what he's doing' amid outrage over USPS delays

President Donald Trump defended Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Saturday amid growing outrage over US Postal Service delays and widespread concern about the looming election.

Trump spoke to reporters at a news briefing from his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, but deflected when he was asked about DeJoy's decision to remove hundreds of high-volume mail-processing machines across the country this year.

"I don't know. I don't know what he's doing," Trump said. "I can only tell you he's a very smart man."

Trump defends the postmaster general, says 'I don't know what he's doing' amid outrage over USPS delays

Isn't that a microcosm of this presidency. It is clear he doesn't know(or care about) anything

[billisonboard]

Aug 16, 2020 9:27:19 GMT -5 pulmonarymd said:

Aug 16, 2020 7:23:46 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Trump defends the postmaster general, says 'I don't know what he's doing' amid outrage over USPS delays

President Donald Trump defended Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Saturday amid growing outrage over US Postal Service delays and widespread concern about the looming election.

Trump spoke to reporters at a news briefing from his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, but deflected when he was asked about DeJoy's decision to remove hundreds of high-volume mail-processing machines across the country this year.

"I don't know. I don't know what he's doing," Trump said. "I can only tell you he's a very smart man."

Trump defends the postmaster general, says 'I don't know what he's doing' amid outrage over USPS delays

Isn't that a microcosm of this presidency. It is clear he doesn't know(or care about) anything

What concerns me is that he appears to not be willing to take the next step when things like this come up: "I am not fully aware of this situation so do not think I should comment at this time. I will get more information and get back to you." He is pleading the same ignorance with the Harris citizenship issue.

I was working one day with a group of high school girls. They were part of a great program that gave these young women who weren't athletes nor academically talented a place to belong. They had a mantra, "As long as we do our best, that's the best we can do." I would present them with a challenge, they would make an unsuccessful attempt and then someone would sing-song the mantra. I offered a new concept to them, "If your best isn't good enough, get better!"

I offer similar to our President, "If you don't know, learn!"

[oped]

He knows. He put him there for that purpose. He just lies. All the fucking time...

[pulmonarymd]

That's why I said he doesn't care. He puts people in place to blow things up, or do something to benefit him personally, then claims he knows nothing about it. Unlike Truman, Trump believes in a "it is not my fault" type of presidency. He takes no responsibility for anything, but claims it for things he doesn't do, such as his executive order on pre-existing conditions.

[TheOtherMe]

He knows on both the post office and Harris' citizenship.  


Lies, lies, and lies.

[Deleted]

Aug 16, 2020 4:42:07 GMT -5 oped said:

Aug 15, 2020 21:45:54 GMT -5 tallguy said:

To be fair, in that situation it would still be real police officers showing up.  "Defund the police" is a really stupid slogan for what they are actually trying to do. 

Yet the polling shows nearly 80% understand what it means. 

I'm well informed on it's meaning and thus didn't comment on the mansplaining.

I stand behind what I said - screaming "defund the police" right now isn't helpful for the BLM movement. Find a new slogan and stop giving Faux and Trump something to put on TV and scare old people...

[oped]

How about you get out there and do something instead of bitching about how other people work to secure your freedoms? 

[billisonboard]

Aug 16, 2020 10:55:55 GMT -5 @shastasnewlife said:

Aug 16, 2020 4:42:07 GMT -5 oped said:

Yet the polling shows nearly 80% understand what it means. 

I'm well informed on it's meaning and thus didn't comment on the mansplaining.

I stand behind what I said - screaming "defund the police" right now isn't helpful for the BLM movement. Find a new slogan and stop giving Faux and Trump something to put on TV and scare old people...

I am sure that the Black leadership of BLM appreciate you sharing your thoughts on this.

[Deleted]

I don't exactly care what BLM or anyone else thinks about me.

However, I will point out that I'm one of the very few NOT racist people living where I live... And, lack of diversity would be on the list of reasons I don't like living here. My neighbor's massive confederate flag makes me cringe. When my neighbors use the N word, that's also cringe worthy...

The point is there are many, many people out there who love and stand behind law enforcement - especially older, white Trump voters.

Disenfranchising them by screaming about defunding the police isn't going to move them to support BLM or Biden.

Perhaps when their medications stop showing up they might change their opinions on Trump's BS with the post office. Or, perhaps not.

And, Oped, if your comment about doing something myself was directed at me - I have never protested in my life but happily would when it comes to voter suppression or Trump refusing to leave office. 100%.