why doesn't WV vote?

[harborlady]

Ny we've used the same tried and true voting machines since before I started voting. you pull the lever which closes the curtain and resets the machine for a new vote. each lever is right next to the candidates name, and all party affiliations are clearly attached to their names. I've never been confused by it- its very straighfoward. they also give folks an opportunity to see what the ballot looks like in the newspapers, and at the polling site on large posters where you can stare at it as long as you like until your mind is made up.
As for the bus of $5/whiskey/deceased folks- you're obliged to be registered in advance through the nys board of elections, via a postcard obtained at motor vehicles or the post office. They screen for age, citizenship, residency, and if you've been a convicted felon. The local newspapers make a point of reminding people about deadlines for registration. The board of elections sends a post card to you every time a vote comes up that you're eligible for, restating the polling place in case its changed, and reminding you that if you've moved you need to re register for that district.
The final screening happens at the polling place in the form of matched signatures. I tell them my legal address and name, they have bound books of all legally registered voters where they look up my name, I sign next to my recorded signature (originating from that post card), the poll matron verifies they match- its that simple. I say poll matrons because it's usually senior citizens hired for the part time job as guardians of the system, and they're obliged to report any suspicious nonsense going on immediately. Hard copies of voter verifications exist for every election and nobody here doubts impropriety at the polls.
The only districts in NY having problems are the ones who were poorer and didn't spend their budget money ensuring the machines were serviced in time for elections, causing long lines to form, and making those poorer folks feel anxious about not getting to vote in time. No one gets denied the right to vote if they're legally registered. EVER. NYS law requires an employer let you leave work to vote if your work hours overlap the poll hours. We close late to make sure everyone gets opportunity.

I'm not saying all of this to brag on, but to show everyone it CAN be done fairly, if only you insist upon it in your own backyard. When we collectively petition the law to make election tampering akin to high treason, when enforcement is taken seriously, we can restore the sanctity of the election process. No, we wont stop all fraud at all levels, but being a guardian of your own backyard is a step in the right direction.

Tbailey, if it means you need my support by me registering as a republican and signing your petition, I will do so. I'll stand up for republicans right to vote even though I don't ideologically belong in your party. It's not a republican thing, its an AMERICAN thing. Nobody should accept this regardless of party affiliation.

It would be nice to see standardization happening among the states. I don't think going electronic is a good idea, considering the debauch of diebold.
ref: http://itpolicy.princeton.edu/voting/
800 layoffs at diebold just the other day. Gee i wonder why.

[Hinton Bound]

Originally Posted by wwva

I didn't know you got a vote in "Heaven"

I think it's "[SIZE=3]Almost heaven, west virginia"...and just for fun...[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Blue ridge mountains[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Shenandoah river -[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Life is old there[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Older than the trees[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Younger than the mountains[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Growin like a breeze[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Country roads, take me home[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]To the place I belong[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]West virginia, mountain momma[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Take me home, country roads[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]All my memories gathered round her[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Miners lady, stranger to blue water[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Dark and dusty, painted on the sky[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Misty taste of moonshine[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Teardrops in my eye[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Country roads, take me home[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]To the place I belong[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]West virginia, mountain momma[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Take me home, country roads[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]I hear her voice[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]In the mornin hour she calls me[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]The radio reminds me of my home far away[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]And drivin down the road I get a feelin[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Country roads, take me home[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]To the place I belong[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]West virginia, mountain momma[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Take me home, country roads[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Country roads, take me home[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]To the place I belong[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]West virginia, mountain momma[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Take me home, country roads[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Take me home, now country roads[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Take me home, now country roads[/SIZE]

...He was a better singer than pilot!

[harborlady]

Here are the results of this thread question to date:
1. everyone who responded to this post votes, the non voters avoided participating in the thread entirely.
2. voter apathy is the only reason, attributed to three factors:
a.)their perception (real or gossip, dont matter) of voting day corruption overriding the individuals vote.
b.) party corruption not allowing real candidates to sink or stand on the issues, but propped up artificially, bought and sold before they ever stood up to speak, as paid mouthpieces for well financed power brokers.
c.) unrealistic expectations of politicians to deliver their pet project despite the larger task at hand.

Anything else?

[Hinton Bound]

I think that sums it up nicely. One item of note though; in just about every forum- electronic or in person, I run into like minded people. It would seem almost all of us are on the same page politically, but we (the country) keeps sliding further and further off track.

[harborlady]

Yes hinton, I think thats the one thing most americans can agree on, a common denomenator- america is ill.

I think we could get in many arguments amongst ourselves in traditional politics as to who should be blamed for what illness. I don't think its gotten us very far doing that.

In truth, it doesn't matter who made the mess. In the here and now, we need to recognize it as a mess, and commence with the work neccessary to restore free elections as they were intended to be. We the people need to be the ones to demand it by being adamant and sticking together for the sake of this issue.

I think as WV goes, the state constitution has the ability to dictate that all political parties within the state operate plainly in a one citizen one vote format when it comes to candidates. It's the only forum that majority can speak, while the checks and balances of the rest of government remain intact. How that translates in electoral college to the national scale is another battle to wage, but lets start HERE and NOW.

[Hinton Bound]

I expect to close on our property in Hinton next week. I hope to be a voting West Virginian soon!