OT: Register to Vote

[Bradford]

A thread on registering to vote is non-partisan and fine for this board and several of the moderators have participated. Veering off on the merits of voter ID laws and voter suppression is not and we will shut it down.

Feel free to comment on how and when to register to vote or move on to another thread.

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by PQJ

It strikes me as eminently reasonable to require a valid ID to exercise an important right that may also be subject to abuse by those inclined to abuse it. The flip side of that coin would be to ensure that the getting of an ID is both easy and affordable (I'd even go with "free"). And lest you think I'm a tighty righty, my proclivities generally tend toward the left-ern side of things.

If there were any reasonable evidence that voter fraud happens at any significant scale, I'd be more inclined to agree with you. But there's no credible evidence this happens in any real way. Its pure pretense to purge the rolls and limit access to the polls.

[yngpunk]

Originally Posted by Bruce K

As an example - I just renewed my Drivers License last Thursday. There was a check box if I wanted to register. I left it blank as I am already registered. The clerk asked me TWICE if I needed to register or was sure that I already was.

Pretty easy in my opinion.

BK

Unfortunately, the DMV doesn't always communicate well with the voter registration people. I've had an instance where I registered to vote when getting a new driver's license, but come voting day, no record of my voter registration. Apparently, this is a known issue in some states

[tjs555]

The more contented the electorate are with their government, the less likely they are to feel the need to vote. It's when things get bad that the turnout will increase. In addition, a statistically sufficient number of voters will probably reflect overall public opinion. Low turnout is not necessarily a bad thing.

[redir]

Originally Posted by tjs555

The more contented the electorate are with their government, the less likely they are to feel the need to vote. It's when things get bad that the turnout will increase. In addition, a statistically sufficient number of voters will probably reflect overall public opinion. Low turnout is not necessarily a bad thing.

That's an interesting way of looking at it. Sort of like a protection against the tyranny of the masses. But then we have here in the States other ways of dealing with that too.

One other thing I would add is that it's not just "when things get bad that the turnout will increase" now it's becoming when things are perceived to be bad that the turnout will increase.

[drewski]

Originally Posted by redir

That's an interesting way of looking at it. Sort of like a protection against the tyranny of the masses. But then we have here in the States other ways of dealing with that too.

One other thing I would add is that it's not just "when things get bad that the turnout will increase" now it's becoming when things are perceived to be bad that the turnout will increase.

Another posting to rankle the moderators!!!.

The electoral college and the way podunk states with 200,000 people get assigned Senators has to go. There is no way Montana and California should have the same say over the direction of our Congress at the national level.
It also explains why we have a Orange Cotton Candy ninny muggins (Space Farce commander) as leader.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by drewski

Another posting to rankle the moderators!!!.

The electoral college and the way podunk states with 200,000 people get assigned Senators has to go. There is no way Montana and California should have the same say over the direction of our Congress at the national level.
It also explains why we have a Orange Cotton Candy ninny muggins (Space Farce commander) as leader.

A little history about this idiotic thing called the 'electoral college'..nothing about the 'why' applies today.

http://time.com/4558510/electoral-co...story-slavery/

For right below..why close it? I think it's been pretty dern neutral-politics wise..

[pjm]

Shut ‘er down.

[C40_guy]

Oh well.

We got three days and four pages in... And the message "register to vote" got out there!

[jlwdm]

When I first started work for the county we got voting day off and it was a waste. Eventually we traded voting day and Columbus Day for the day after Thanksgiving and a floating holiday you could take whenever you want. I do not want to pay for everyone to have voting day off. Voting absentee or with a paper ballot is very easy today.

I also don't understand not showing id to vote. We are in a very different world these days with a mobile society within our states, our country and around the world. We need the proper people voting. The need for id is part of our society in so many ways these days.

Jeff

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by jlwdm

When I first started work for the county we got voting day off and it was a waste. Eventually we traded voting day and Columbus Day for the day after Thanksgiving and a floating holiday you could take whenever you want. I do not want to pay for everyone to have voting day off. Voting absentee or with a paper ballot is very easy today.

The previous time I voted in MI back a decade or so ago when I voted absentee I was challenged and ask some pretty pointed questions about why I was voting absentee. I was quite taken aback because I thought it was nobody's business but my own, and I answered such. I work in the airline business and am gone for several days at a time, often over election days.

Due to my work I am gone from home about half the week at times and I can't skip a multi-day trip just to be at home for 30 minutes on a Tuesday. I was fairly shocked at the hostility, or at least sharp ignorance and naiveté, of the person at the township where I voted that I might actually not be able to be present that day.

And there are places that have fought absentee voting actively. So it's not quite as simple as you might imagine. It's not 1776 anymore and we do need to ensure our electoral rights and those of others whose rights are often challenged.

[redir]

Mail in voting should be an option for everyone. Period. Oregon has been doing it for years. And even thought there could possibly be problems it would be way more secure then electronic voting machines.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by redir

Mail in voting should be an option for everyone. Period. Oregon has been doing it for years. And even thought there could possibly be problems it would be way more secure then electronic voting machines.

On line voting ought to be the norm..I sure don't have any 'security' answers but the system now seems really archaic.

[ptourkin]

Just facts w/o commentary:
Two party race for governor with a black candidate.
Majority black county with many poor residents without access to transportation.
7 out of 9 polling places in the county to be closed.

https://www.wrbl.com/news/local-news...ces/1377250612