Lina Hidalgo clinging to 1-pt lead against GOP's Alexandra del Moral Mealer (Portland: home, law)

[SanJac]

Originally Posted by Dopo

The real solution is to make election day a paid holiday or move election day from Tuesday to Saturday or Sunday.
Without checking, I bet all my savings that conservatives have always been against it.

Everything else, is just putting a patch on the problem.

That really has nothing to do with it. People that want to vote will go to the polls to vote. Most companies offer paid time off for all their employees to take the time to vote.

There is a certain level of voter apathy that will always remain. Even vote-by-mail states don't get 100% participation. Here is Oregon:

Statewide Turnout 2000 - 2005 after Oregon became Vote By Mail only state

May 2000 - Presidential Primary election VBM - 51 percent turnout.
November 2000 - First VBM Presidential General election - 79 percent turnout.
May 2002 - Primary election VBM - 46 percent turnout.
September - 2002 Special election for two statewide measures VBM - 44 percent turnout.
November 2002 General election VBM - 69 percent turnout.
January 2003 Special election for a statewide measure VBM - 66 percent turnout.
September 2003 Special election for a statewide measure VBM - 35 percent turnout.
February 2004 Special election for a statewide measure VBM - 63 percent turnout.
May 2004 Presidential Primary election VBM - 46 percent turnout.
November 2004 Presidential General election VBM. Voter registration exceeds 2 million - 86 percent turnout.

I wonder why those statewide measures which were likely more impactful to the citizenry of Oregon had such lower voter turnout than the Presidential elections which arguably had less of an impact to Oregon citizens? Is it far-fetched to think the national political machines of both parties influenced the turnout?

[houston-nomad]

Originally Posted by SanJac

That really has nothing to do with it. People that want to vote will go to the polls to vote. Most companies offer paid time off for all their employees to take the time to vote.

There is a certain level of voter apathy that will always remain. Even vote-by-mail states don't get 100% participation. Here is Oregon:

Statewide Turnout 2000 - 2005 after Oregon became Vote By Mail only state

May 2000 - Presidential Primary election VBM - 51 percent turnout.
November 2000 - First VBM Presidential General election - 79 percent turnout.
May 2002 - Primary election VBM - 46 percent turnout.
September - 2002 Special election for two statewide measures VBM - 44 percent turnout.
November 2002 General election VBM - 69 percent turnout.
January 2003 Special election for a statewide measure VBM - 66 percent turnout.
September 2003 Special election for a statewide measure VBM - 35 percent turnout.
February 2004 Special election for a statewide measure VBM - 63 percent turnout.
May 2004 Presidential Primary election VBM - 46 percent turnout.
November 2004 Presidential General election VBM. Voter registration exceeds 2 million - 86 percent turnout.

I wonder why those statewide measures which were likely more impactful to the citizenry of Oregon had such lower voter turnout than the Presidential elections which arguably had less of an impact to Oregon citizens? Is it far-fetched to think the national political machines of both parties influenced the turnout?

But these turnout numbers are so much better than Texas' turnout numbers! I mean, crazy better.

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally Posted by As Above So Below...

Voting should be easy, not difficult.

Im fine with requiring an ID, but beyond that, who cares if its from a car at a polling site, dropping off a ballot at a monitored box, or whatever. The only explanation certain people want it to be difficult has nothing to do with "voter integrity" and everything to do with making it harder for the people you dont want to vote to vote. Urban areas are more likely to vote blue than rural ones. Thats why limiting the drop off boxes to one per county was so important to the Texas GOP. That way you make it not difficult for rural voters but very difficult for urban ones who wish to use that method.

Agreed. I honestly don't understand why we don't have automatic voter registration (at least for Federal elections) linked to SSN. The technology is there and easily implementable, given the political will to do it. I do it because I feel its my duty to vote, but I hate actually having to physically go to a poll and would much prefer mail-in voting regardless of the documentation required to verify. I don't think anyone who's being honest is against requiring ID/proof of citizenship, but its ridiculous that you have to have some sort of excuse in Texas to use mail-in voting.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by As Above So Below...

Voting should be easy, not difficult.

Im fine with requiring an ID, but beyond that, who cares if its from a car at a polling site, dropping off a ballot at a monitored box, or whatever. The only explanation certain people want it to be difficult has nothing to do with "voter integrity" and everything to do with making it harder for the people you dont want to vote to vote. Urban areas are more likely to vote blue than rural ones. Thats why limiting the drop off boxes to one per county was so important to the Texas GOP. That way you make it not difficult for rural voters but very difficult for urban ones who wish to use that method.

Yep. Limiting Harris County with 5 million residents and 1500 square miles to a single dropbox is ridiculous.

Originally Posted by SanJac

That really has nothing to do with it. People that want to vote will go to the polls to vote. Most companies offer paid time off for all their employees to take the time to vote.

No, most companies do not offer paid time off to vote. As long as an employee has two hours to vote after work, the employer doesn't have to give the time. In Texas, anyway.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by SanJac

That really has nothing to do with it. People that want to vote will go to the polls to vote. Most companies offer paid time off for all their employees to take the time to vote.

Nice alternative facts

A record 44% of US employers will give their workers paid time off to vote this year - Oct. 2018
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnb...f-to-vote.html

One reason for low-voter turnout is because Americans can't get away from work. According to a survey from Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), in 2018 44 percent of U.S. employers offer their workers paid time off to vote — and that's an all-time high. In 2017, 42 percent of employers offered paid time off to vote as a benefit.

[utche96]

Originally Posted by Dopo

One reason for low-voter turnout is because Americans can't get away from work. According to a survey from Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), in 2018 44 percent of U.S. employers offer their workers paid time off to vote — and that's an all-time high. In 2017, 42 percent of employers offered paid time off to vote as a benefit.

Harris county like many other counties offer early voting for an extended period including weekends. Just checked my options for the upcoming election. I see no legitimate reason that a healthy person who is in the county during these times can't vote in person.



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[WRM20]

Originally Posted by utche96

Harris county like many other counties offer early voting for an extended period including weekends. Just checked my options for the upcoming election. I see no legitimate reason that a healthy person who is in the county during these times can't vote in person.



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Because they don't want to is perfectly fine. I don't understand the desire to make people fit your belief system, when letting them do what best fits their life does no harm to you.

Someone working a refinery turnaround 7am to 7pm, 7 days per week, has an excellent chance of not being able to vote during those hours, for example.

[houston-nomad]

Originally Posted by utche96

Harris county like many other counties offer early voting for an extended period including weekends. Just checked my options for the upcoming election. I see no legitimate reason that a healthy person who is in the county during these times can't vote in person.



10/24/2022-10/29/2022 07:00 AM-07:00 PM
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What about college students who are away from home?

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by houston-nomad

What about college students who are away from home?

They bend over backwards defending having Election Day on Tuesday
You know that if they defend it so strongly is because it helps them win.

[oil capital]

Originally Posted by WRM20

Because the current Postmaster General, appointed by the previous President, managed to slow down mail prior to the 2020 election, causing late deliveries, lost mail, and myriad other issues. In many areas, mailboxes are broken into and mail is stolen or destroyed. The USPS is an independent agency of the Executive Branch, and is not operated like a standard government entity.

Besides that, some people just want to drop their ballot into a box controlled by election officials once they've filled it out. It doesn't hurt anything, and helps people trust that their vote is counted.

I have no particular objection to drop boxes as long as they are staffed and secure, which obviously adds signicant cost and probably staffing problems for the election officials. Some people might prefer the convenience of a drop box, but some people might also prefer to have election officials come to their house to collect ballots. That doesn't mean we do that or that we should. As I said above, I just see them as a solution in search of a problem.

And more to the point of the discussion, even if it makes some sense to have drop boxes for mailed ballots and even if it is financially feasible, that doesn't mean failing to have drop boxes is voter suppression. We offer a variety of ways to vote and a long time in which to vote, including voting by mail (which is quite secure and reliable, your spin about the 2020 mail service notwithstanding).