According to this story, an unnamed employee of the Clackamus County, Oregon elections office is being investigated for adding extra “votes” to ballots in which the voter left certain offices blank on their voted ballots. Oregon has all-mail balloting. Apparently the worker, assigned the task of opening up envelopes containing voted ballots, was marking “votes” for Republican nominees, on ballots in which the voter had left a partisan office blank. Thanks to Sal Peralta for the link.
Sheesh! When, the heck, are we going to go to Internet voting? If governments can arrage for us to pay income and property taxes via the Internet, then why can’t they do that with voting?
In a well run elections department, no one handles ballots without another staff member present and watching. Everything is done by teams of two (or more). Also, to the extent permitted by the physical layout of the office space, members of the public can observe the process.
What will they do now? What they should do is throw out all the ballots and revote.
All balloting should happen on election day at the polls. 16 hours of voting and close the polls. Mail ballots and internet ballots are too prone to fraud and too easy to hack. Voters who don’t care enough to show up in person to vote don’t need to bother themselves.
#1 Internet voting can so easily be hacked or to be able to vote multiple times. Even electronic voting machines can easily be hacked into.
#3 So, any US citizen who doesn’t live near their polling place doesn’t get to vote?
Also, that’s how the entire state of Oregon votes. We don’t have polling places so that is not even an option for any voter in the state.
Voting should happen at the polls OR mail in ballots get counted on Election Day by members in your own district.
That’s what we do in PA, the absentee ballots are taken to the polling place of the person and are counted there with me and women that have been sworn to do No harm in the elections.
What is the PUNISHMENT for the EVIL FELON worker ???
akin to stuffing the old ballot boxes.
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See the old Greek city state regimes.
Vote illegally = DEATH penalty.
NativePride (like that handle), have you seen the security protocols on the American Government’s EFTPS? Let’s put it this way, do you think the government is interested in making tax payments, their very lifeblood, secure? Well, in theory, they should be at least as interested in making sure their bosses (the voters) can easily and securely make the vital decision about who is elected. But there is no foolproof system, as history shows.
@5 You used to have polling places in OR and you can do so again. Mail ballots, Internet voting and early voting all involve too much fraud and early voting allows voting before the campaign has run its course, before all the issues and debates are presented – too early to be allowed.
Yes. ALL votes should be cast at the polls during a 16 hour open window on election day. Only voters serious enough to show up at the polls should be allowed to vote.
#9 You can have polling places but you cannot eliminate early voting without disenfranchising US citizens of the ability to vote. How many politicians do you know who would support taking away the right to vote from members of the military living abroad? Much less other people living abroad or unable to go to a polling station in a 16 hour period.