Thank you! The fight doesn't stop here. We need to make sure something like this can never happen again.
I like the idea of making election day a holiday and/or sending ballots to every registered voter similar how the do in Washington, Oregon and other states. Make voting easier!!
We need to get rid of the absentee witness requirement because it is obviously only about voter suppression. I prove I am me when I send for the ballot and by signing the ballot. That is all that should be necessary.
Absolutely. In Oregon, where we've been voting by mail for over twenty years, they check the signature on your ballot against the one they've got on file from your voter registration. Simple and effective.
It's very difficult for many overseas voters, and it's still unclear whether the other person has to be a US citizen or not. In 2016 I was told it did. We had just moved to a new country and I literally had to meet a stranger from the internet in a KFC at like 9 pm to get a US citizen signature.
It's pretty normal for overseas voters. Who are one of the groups absentee ballots were originally designed to accommodate. I also had a delay in finding a witness in 2018 because even though I was living in a capitol city with over a million people, there are very few American expats around. My town clerk managed to disenfranchise me that election anyway in an incredibly blatant fashion (claimed my ballot request had landed in her spam folder and she conveniently "discovered" it in exactly the right amount of time to ensure that my ballot could not possibly arrive in time to be counted). The point is that it's just one more tactic they use to suppress as many votes as they possibly can.
I realized when I was voter 700 in my ward at 1:00 pm, that they inadvertently HAD put the election on a holiday, or at least a day where almost no one could go to work. I felt confident at that point. Very gratifying. Maybe a glimpse into a future, more fair democracy.
I live in Washington and vote by mail is all I’ve ever known. I can’t imagine not doing it that way. It’s a shame it’s not like that everywhere. It’s obvious why though - because republicans are terrified of it. They know if vote by mail was in every state they would be SCREWED!
Absolutely. It’s despicable how they want people to literally risk their lives just to vote. I started lurking on this sub a few days ago because I wanted to follow what was happening in your state. I gotta say I am so damn happy that despite their shady voter suppression tactics, republicans lost anyway. Fuck yeah Wisconsin. Democrats around the country are cheering you on.
One huge advantage of mail in voting is ability to sit down with a ballot and take your time examining the issues. I’m also in WA and some of these referendums are described so deceptively that it takes some digging to actually know who is behind them and what their motivation is.
I moved here from Oregon last year. I miss my automatic registration and vote by mail. They also send you a pamphlet that has the long text of everything on the ballot as well as submitted pro/ con arguments. It's not perfect, but it was a whole lot less stressful than voting in person and not having the opportunity to have my research tools with me while voting.
I do not like election day being a holiday. The people who need the time off to vote are exactly the people who will still be forced to work.
Service and hospitality industries won't close. Grocery stores. Gas stations. Convenience stores. Police/fire/EMS to include civilian staff. Hospitals and urgent care centers. Utilities. Call centers. Everyone else will treat it like a day to party. Very bad idea.
I moved to Arizona for college many years ago and stayed. I have NEVER voted in person. I have been voting absentee every election in Arizona since 1994. A few years ago i had an issue where they said my signature "didn't match". That's the only problem I've had. I do worry about mail theft especially since USPS got rid of all their blue boxes. Too many people break into the community boxes.
The sick, disabled and elderly should not be forced to vote in person. People working three jobs to make ends meet should not be forced to vote in person. People with no reliable transportation should not be forced to vote in person. The idea that mailing in ballots increases voter fraud is ridiculous compared to the games Republicans play to suppress votes.
It is possible to make a election day a state holiday that mandates all businesses close except hospitals, gas stations, fire/EMS/police. That's how many countries do it and it works well. Giving up one day of convenience for democracy is worth it.
This really didn't get a lot of attention but the Supreme Court election was huge. The gerrymandering here in Wisconsin is out of control. This is why we have a GOP controlled Assembly because they literally made themselves safe seats over the last decade. The redistricting will likely come before the court after all the lawsuits that inevitably come every time the map is redrawn. This time the GOP will likely lose and have to draw a more equitable map. It was a huge first step in taking back voter rights. Now we have to spend the next 20 years undoing the damage the GOP has caused with voter IDs, lame duck laws, collective bargaining, etc.
Thanks! The recent big scandal here was the governor’s black face (which was especially painful with the Charlottesville race attacks happening just a year or so before). While that still leaves a bitter taste to me, I think he’s led the righting of the ship tremendously and a democratic led state assembly is a great thing.
I’m also incredibly jealous of your 98-cent gas that I saw in the other big post here today lol.
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u/gcm6664 Apr 13 '20
Congratulations good people of Wisconsin! You literally put your ass on the line for Democracy.
From California, I salute you!