Quote:
Originally Posted by blueash
As the OP I might offer that the topic of this thread was not intended to be voter fraud. It was intended to be a discussion of what the state should do in preparation for the possibility that Covid might still be an issue in August or November. The example of the problems encountered in Wisconsin this week when voters were going to the polls in the midst of Covid was referenced. Several people then replied about how mail in votes were a risk to a fair election and it went a bit sideways.
I am still interested in thoughts on what might be in a good plan. No one has commented on increased voting locations, increasing hours per location, increasing the number of days for early voting, provision of PPE to voters or other options that might be considered. And I hope someone will have a clever, maybe off the wall idea to keep voters safe but still allow them to participate fully.
|
A possible idea that I just made up out of the vast expanse of nothingness between my ears:
Anyone with a valid ID can go to any authorized location any time between now and Election Week (not day - the idea is to have a week), and acquire a punch card. The card would be uniquely coded to that individual person.
I don't know if non-drivers-license state IDs and "real" IDs have codes on the back, but Florida licenses do. Those folks would show up at any authorized polling place during Election Week, scan their ID, check off the punch card with their voting choices, and slide the card into a machine that will capture and lock the card.
No one gets to see these cards until the end of Voting Week, and the machine does not tally the cards until the Voting Commissioner pushes a button at the end of the week that says "go ahead and tally them." It doesn't keep a running tally, so as not to cause the media to say "this person's doing great, don't bother voting for that person."
No one gets to know who's winning and who's not winning until the Commissioner sees the results, minutes before the announcement.
If there's any dispute, the cards can be manually counted.
The only glitch to this, is for people who are snowbirds. Their licenses prove they live in Florida, but they live here only part time. They live somewhere else part-time. In which state do they vote? If their license is for Ohio, but they're in Florida in November, then their ID would not be recognized as valid for voting in Florida.
If Ohio has the same rules - no absentee votes allowed - then they wouldn't be allowed to vote at all.
And that brings me back to mail-in voting. It's a valid method of voting, it works in the states that have it, the possibility of fraud is minimal (which is already proven because it's been implemented and there's been minimal fraud). I'm also on board with electronic voting via the internet, though I'm less convinced that this wouldn't pose security issues.