1. With respect, please allow an explanation of the difference ??

A request for a absentee ballot shows a need, mass mailout goes to every registered voter but could end up in the wrong address.

2. Since since there was mail voting, no fraud has happened, although accusation have been leveled with never any substance, so what is the basis for rejecting a method to allow more Americans to vote ?

Your statement that no fraud has happened is simply wrong.

3. Back before Twitter, Facebook, etc., there was no system for mail in voting. Now we are told Facebook and Twitter are vital.....why label mail in voting as a bad thing ?

What does mail in voting have to do with Twitter or Facebook

4. Why is more participation in our system a bad thing?

More participation is not a bad thing if it is done correctly.

5. Why, since the established commission to investigate improper voting was disbanded after 5 months, and the claim of millions of immigrants has been proven to. Be totally false, are we still looking in the haystack ?

Properly done, mail in can be OK , but simply changing rules and mailing out ballots without a well planned system will lead to problems. Think of the possibilities. A ballot is mailed to a dead person. What happens to it? A ballot is mailed to the wrong address. What happens to it? The possibilities are endless.

In summary , more is not better if it is controlled.

My post keeps getting deleted by the Admin regarding my input into FRAUD with paper voting so I have to keep it satisfactory to their liking level....
So all I can say is no truth to YOUR OPINION on mail fraud, there are plenty of video explaining fraud by both sides of the aisle...
What right do we have at this time to test and conduct a National Election for President of the United States with a procedure that have not been proven to be reliable. Maybe later next year test this action of voting on a local level election before moving onto bigger national things..

Can you provide the sites where only 2 or 3 polling areas are available to serve hundreds of thousand of people? I tried to google it and could not find such areas. I can imagine some areas such as Alaska, Montana etc where distance are so great and population low that would be best served by absentee voting.

You mistake absentee voting (which is a request for a ballot) with the mass mailing that was the topic. Absentee voting is absolutely OK.

My experience in Florida Voting is that I am asked to ID myself, which I do with my drivers license. It is swiped and matched to the voter registration list. If I am matched to the list i am given a ballot. I vote . Not a hard system. I just do not want some stray ballot arriving at some residence thru mass mailing to be used to negate my ballot.

For the many seasonal residents of the Villages a mail-in absentee ballot is essential. Otherwise we would be deprived of our right to vote.

"Your signature is your proof as long as it matches up with whatever form that was used to register to vote."

So, who (or what) determines if the signature "matches up"?

In my former state of residence, at the state level the (state) constitution mandates that the state elections office will be filled by appointment, which results in appointments from the current party of the current governor.

And, at the precinct level, the precinct judge (head of that precinct) AND a majority of the precinct judges had to be the same as the current party of the governor.

So, who (what) determines if the mail-in ballot is verifiable?

The current party in power.

As a county chairperson, on election day, I went from precinct to precinct, looking for irregularities. I personally witnessed the current Clerk Of Court delivering "voters" to exercise their constitutional right to vote. Of course, they were of the same party as the Clerk Of Court.

This is the same county where the brother of a county commissioner was sent to prison for "buying" votes.

We had mail-in ballots in CO. Every registered voter got one without asking. It was so much easier to vote in your living room while reading the issues pamphlet. I never once heard any complaints about voter fraud.

When Michigan sent out “applications” for a mail in ballot, they were checking the signatures on the Returned envelope to the ones on file with the original voter registration. So, Where’s the room for fraud? This is what banks have been using to dispense cash in your account for a hundred years.

That is the case in Florida

Banks only require a signature on paper checks and they don't even look at them. But, most withdrawals are made using a credit card, debit card, or ATM machine. A signature is almost never required. Did Michigan arrest and prosecute the people who forged signatures on ballots?

I certainly am not looking for "video". You can perform a search on YouTube and get a video on any subject under the moon. If fraud has been so prevelant, there has to be reams of documentation, prosecution and the like in court records.

This mail in system is not new....was not simply invented recently. Millions of illegal immigrants did not vote or get ballots in the last election. Fraud is not rampant, or even close.

No test required...this system works and is proven safe.

I emphasized "mass mail in voting". Not traditional absentee voting in which fraud is much more difficult due to the limited number of times it is used. And signature verification for millions of votes is a problematic for obvious reasons. It is no substitute for ID verification. It also does not stop ballot harvesting, vote buying, voter intimidation, duplicate voting and so on.

Shouldn't every vote count? If so that means ensuring the integrity of the process. Voter rolls are notoriously infected with dead voters, people who have moved and so on. There are many instances where the number of people registered greatly exceed the number of eligible voters. So that means umpteen thousands of invalid ballots will be sent out in many congressional districts. And many will go to the wrong address.

Is it too much to ask for people who are able to show up once or twice a year at a local polling place to ensure that every valid vote counts? The answer is yes if you want to facilitate fraudulent elections.

It is a simple concept. The easier it is to cheat and get away with it, the more tainted elections we will have. Especially in these times where the principle of "ends justifies the means" is embraced by an increasingly radicalized Democratic Party.

In Orange County – once seen as a Republican stronghold in the state– every House seat went to a Democrat after an unprecedented “250,000” vote-by-mail drop-offs were counted, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

“People were carrying in stacks of 100 and 200 of them. We had had multiple people calling to ask if these people were allowed to do this,” Kelley said.

Mail in voting has been one disaster after another. The latest California debacle is just the latest.

Fact's are, mail in voting has always been there, it's part of the system. And right now where a lot of people are rightfully afraid to be around others it's an important tool to our democracy. And voter suppression is very real and in full force here!

Many of you may not be old enough to remember when all Social Security checks were sent by mail. Checks for the entire nation were all mailed on the same day every month (I believe it was the last day of the month). A few days later, mail boxes were broken into so that thieves could steal and cash the checks.

I feel that if a mass mailing to every one in a state is sent a ballot, many will be stolen, filled out by cheats, fraudulently signed and submitted. I do believe that a ballot will only be sent to registered voters, but I do not believe that someone will check the authenticity of the signature on every single mail-in ballot. If so, it would takes weeks before a winner is determined.

What happens when I recognize that I haven't received my ballot? Do I call the Election Commissioner and complain? They may tell me that it was delayed in the mail, wait a few days. Or, depending on whether or not they record ballots received when they come in (they would have to open the ballots to do so) they may say, "You voted already, we received it." Depending on my age and my memory I may accept that. What if I tell them that I haven't voted, will they send me a duplicate ballot?

In the words of Yul Brynner as the King of Siam, "et cetera, et cetera and so forth!" There are many opportunities for fraud. Why take a chance. I don't want to disparage anyone or any place but remember the slogan - Vote Early, Vote Often.

Mail in ballots will create fraud a an unbelievable rate, already proven, dozens of cases already. Need voter ID too.

GoPacers, you are spot on!! There would be very little need for mail-in voting, as there has been in the past, if people were guaranteed an opportunity to vote in person without having to travel for hours to a polling facility because the one most convenient for them has been closed, specifically to suppress the vote!! I have witnessed that in my voting history and it was more than evident in the 2018 election. Every citizen in this country, unless regulated by law, has the right to vote and access to a process to vote that is fair, convenient and easy. To make any change to that, must be unlawful. Unfortunately, today’s politicians find that it is necessary to manipulate processes and systems to ensure they win. I hate what has happened and continues to happen to our country.

Don’t look at signatures on checks
 

You are completely missing my point. We are not talking about debit cards, we are talking about a long time proven practice of matching signatures to validate a document. And yes the banks DO CHECK signatures.

You have to request one.. application to request one is what is mailed out..voted like this in Florida 14 years..

Original poster thank you for the most thoughtful post I have ever read in this site!

I was registered in Leon county Florida and voted by mail while working abroad for the DOD. My ballot came addressed to me by name, I had to sign my ballot and it stated the signature had to match my voters registration card on file. Once sealed I had to sign again across the flap. Then I could track my vote online a see when it was received and counted. That’s a lot of steps to prevent fraud IMHO. I felt confident in the system.

You really should provide a link or details on at least one of the "dozens" of cases you know of.

How is it voter suppression when any eligible voter can request an absentee ballot if they have a valid reason?

Once again, absentee voting is worlds apart from mass mailing of ballots based on incredibly inaccurate and poorly maintained voter databases.

Voter suppression is a canard to mask the attempts to steal elections.

That's the difference between ABSENTEE ballots and MAIL IN. We already have ABSENTEE ballots so there us no need for Mail ins.

Voter FRAUD will be paramount
 

Mandatory Voter ID Required, if you can go to the Grocery Store, you can go Vote in person, if you are out of the area on Voting day request an absentee ballot, (note they are only counted on close elections) With the Post Office handling the mail, you will see a lot of abnormality including late ballots and lost ballots, the USPS is NOT UPS or FeDex the last two are examples of private sector versus Government, private sector gets it done while Government runs massive deficits each year!!!!!!!!

Inaccurate comment
 

This isn't true. Five states, including some red states, have successfully been using mail in voting for years with fraud less than 0.00004%.

EXCLUSIVE: Voter fraud in Palm Beach County: State attorney finds crimes, but no suspect - News - The Palm Beach Post - West Palm Beach, FL

Anyone with any integrity and access to google could verify hundreds of investigations like this every election cycle. Voter fraud is real and undeniable. The key point is not whether voter fraud happens but that it will happen on a much grander scale with the rules of mass mail in voting and ballot harvesting such as in CA. That is because it makes it virtually impossible to identify and prosecute the criminals.

And you definitely won't see it with your political blinders on.

State officials are planning to examine about 20 Detroit precincts where ballot boxes opened during the recount had fewer ballots than poll workers had recorded on Election Day.

Records: Too many votes in 37% of Detroit’s precincts

Rutrow, you're inserting actual facts...into a discussion.

Get ready to be bombarded...with personal attacks. :ohdear:

Are you aware that five states conduct their elections entirely by mail ballot and the incident of fraud is less than 100th of 1%. And, virtually every state has allowed voters to vote by mail should they choose to for decades. There is no, I repeat no evidence that mail balloting is fraught with more fraud than any other method. Those responsible for county and state elections have documented this time and time again. The current brouhaha is just another example of fake news perpetuated by the White House.

Sorry but this is incorrect. All ballots are counted and, there are 5 states where all votes are cast by mail.

There are 1.5 million more registered voters in LA county than there are adult residents. 1.5 million ballots for deceased people and people that have moved elsewhere. California as Motor/Voter. When one gets a driver's license, they are automatically registered to vote. California passed a law that allows illegal immigrants to get valid California driver's licenses. You tell me if there is a chance that those non-citizens are allowed to vote or not. California is being pro-active in mailing out ballots. In your opinion, is there a greater chance for voter fraud than before? :shocked::MOJE_whot::ohdear::faint::22yikes::boom:

I'm okay with mail in (or absentee) ballots...I've used them in the past a few times when I knew that I'd be traveling on election day

what I'm not okay with is 'mass mailing' ballots out to everyone just because their name is on the voting list

If you're an independent, what ballot do you get in the primary (or do you even get to vote unless you declare yourself to a party)

Today, if you want to mail in your vote, individuals can request a mail in ballot....that's referred to as "a pull"

just "pushing" ballots out to everyone is what I take exception to...the present process for maintaining accurate voting lists are inconsistent and many communities may lack the necessary oversight

the voter lists aren't always accurate and up to date
the process for tallying and recording mail in ballots are most likely unable to handle the volume in a timely fashion if everyone voted by mail....so we'd wait a couple of days to know who won....heck that what it was like in Lincoln's era

I'm for keeping the voting process the way it's been done in the past

Ballots are not mailed to everyone. What is being mailed is an application for a ballot

It is absurd to think that the amount of fraud can be determined when every single vote cast has a broken chain of custody. I am sure most of the elections were fairly accurate. But as seen in California, a tsunami of ballot harvested votes counted after election day wiped out large GOP leads for four Congressional races.

And for those who think that Voter ID is racist should look in a mirror.

Results and policy lessons
Researchers found that notifications about voter ID requirements did not negatively impact voter turnout, and may have actually increased turnout.

The Effects of Voter ID Notification on Voter Turnout in the United States | The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab

I'm not sure where you get your data but try again (or cite your references).

There are 7,851,531 adults living in LA County as of Feb 2020. You'll have to do a little math but here is the population pyramid by age (https://worldpopulationreview.com/us...ty-population/). You can also just simply google "How many adults live in Los Angeles County?" and it comes back with the referenced number with a link to the worldpopulation review web site.

There are 4.3M registered voters in LA County (Elections & Voting).

It would seem there are nearly $3.5M more adults in LA County than there are registered voters. I will agree that proactively mailing out ballots is a blatant attempt to encourage more people to vote (:o). I'm not sure why that would be a problem when the # of registered voters is slightly more than 55% of the adult population.

I'll also agree that getting more registered voters in LA County is more likely to benefit Democrats given that Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 2:1 margin (approximately) in LA County.

I think it's great that California (and all other states) try to increase the number of registered voters and that they encourage more people to vote. That's how a democracy works. Thankfully, we have an electoral college that ensures the most populous states (i.e. CA, NY, IL) don't elect the President by rendering the votes in many, many other states meaningless.

Anyway, in the immortal words of Joe Friday: "Just the facts...!"

County election officials should at least do canvases. We bought our house. Four years ago. They still send voter registration materials to the former owners, who moved to New York, and the post office keeps delivering these. I mark the canvas cards return to sender, addressee moved out of state, and put them back in the mail, but no one gives a hoot.

I am registered to vote by mail here in FL. I am grateful to be able to execute my constitutional right, safely, in the privacy of my home, especially during these times of a pandemic.
Due to back issues, there is no way I can stand and wait in long lines to VOTE.
I have a voter ID and my signature must match my voter registration.
Voting by mail during an outbreak of a deadly virus should be a no - brainer.
As I recall during the 2016 election, electronic voting machines were targets of hacking and manipulation.
You can choose whether to go in person to vote or mail in your ballot.
Stay safe.

"I am not against mail in ballots. However, I think that there should be a requirement that they should be requested. That way a need is expressed, a current address is provided, and an opportunity to insure that the requester is properly registered can be verified." I think all voters should be vetted before they are given the right to vote.

What “vetting” would you add to the existing vetting ?

You think it is to hush old people? Really? I thought it was to eliminate the newly arrived, without drivers licenses and stuff like that. Oh wait. are there sides here? I think that carefully checking all ballots against information that is important, such as being an alive human, is very important. When the stimulus checks were sent out some folks got two and some didn't get any...…… Let alone all that mix up with money not available for those who want to collect unemployment instead of working...…..I didn't mean THAT....