No matter what your polital leaning or affiliation, I think we can all agree that we want safe, secure and accurate voting in our country. Whether there has been deliberate fraud, or just careless practices, we need to shore up our voting rules and laws in every state and county.
The adoption of computerized counting has caused many unintended consequences. It is definitely a faster way to count. The proliferation of mail-in ballots has also created unintended consequences. Can we trust the companies that make the software to use in these machines?
Having such strong and rancorous party divisions has unintended consequences.
What are the unintended consequences?
Having such clear and divided parties has caused many to try to win at all costs! Without meaning to, many of us are willing to fudge here and there, so our party candidates come out on top. The unintended consequence of this has allowed foreign countries to invade our private voting systems to tip the scales the way they desire. It goes beyond just party divisions and preferences. It becomes treasonous!
It is easier than ever to use the convenience of mail-in ballots to have allowed for ballot harvesting, double ballots, ghost/phantom ballots, etc. Moving to Colorado in 1993, we found ourselves in a purple state -- a mixture of all parties. But, since then and due primarily to ballot harvesting, the state has turned almost totally blue. An audit and canvassing would go a long way to determining if shady practices are being used. Come on, Colorado voters, let's demand to know for sure our voting is secure and accurate!
I have a personal example. I was driving Rideshare for Uber during the 2016 campaign and election. I routinely picked up dedicated, energetic, mostly-young people who would have me take them to older, established neighborhoods or elder care facilities. They explained that they were providing a service, mostly for seniors or disabled people, where they would help them complete their ballot and then they would drop it in a ballot box for the person.
One fellow went so far as to admit that he earned extra money for school by providing this service. He went on to say that he often had to educate the person on what was on the ballot. He said many elderly didn't realize how important it was to elect the first woman President. He was careful how he framed what he said, but I thought, even then, it was pretty telling.
Unintended consequence of mail-in balloting: people helping others to fill out and submit their ballots and in so doing influence their vote choices.
At that same time, my own mother was in a Care Facility and in her nineties. She was suffering with early dementia. I helped her fill out her ballot. It was difficult, even for me, because she wanted to vote for someone that I wasn't voting for. She didn't understand beyond just the President, all the other items on the ballot. Even when I read information provided by the county explaining what the different Amendments, Propositions, etc. she struggled to understand. I tried hard to faithfully vote her wishes, although I knew it was possible to sway her in her decisions. What about a young person, earning extra cash, and being enthusiastic about their own choices? This is an unintended consequence if there ever was one.
There has been much said by all parties and affiliations about whether a mail-in vote can be manipulated, double counted, not checked for proper ID, etc. Much is available to show the potential hazzards. Do your own research!
We all need to think long and hard about what consequences we want in the elections of the future. Are safe, secure and accurate elections possible today?
It is up to each of us to demand that they are! Do your part, please. We need to make this a priority
The adoption of computerized counting has caused many unintended consequences. It is definitely a faster way to count. The proliferation of mail-in ballots has also created unintended consequences. Can we trust the companies that make the software to use in these machines?
Having such strong and rancorous party divisions has unintended consequences.
What are the unintended consequences?
Having such clear and divided parties has caused many to try to win at all costs! Without meaning to, many of us are willing to fudge here and there, so our party candidates come out on top. The unintended consequence of this has allowed foreign countries to invade our private voting systems to tip the scales the way they desire. It goes beyond just party divisions and preferences. It becomes treasonous!
It is easier than ever to use the convenience of mail-in ballots to have allowed for ballot harvesting, double ballots, ghost/phantom ballots, etc. Moving to Colorado in 1993, we found ourselves in a purple state -- a mixture of all parties. But, since then and due primarily to ballot harvesting, the state has turned almost totally blue. An audit and canvassing would go a long way to determining if shady practices are being used. Come on, Colorado voters, let's demand to know for sure our voting is secure and accurate!
I have a personal example. I was driving Rideshare for Uber during the 2016 campaign and election. I routinely picked up dedicated, energetic, mostly-young people who would have me take them to older, established neighborhoods or elder care facilities. They explained that they were providing a service, mostly for seniors or disabled people, where they would help them complete their ballot and then they would drop it in a ballot box for the person.
One fellow went so far as to admit that he earned extra money for school by providing this service. He went on to say that he often had to educate the person on what was on the ballot. He said many elderly didn't realize how important it was to elect the first woman President. He was careful how he framed what he said, but I thought, even then, it was pretty telling.
Unintended consequence of mail-in balloting: people helping others to fill out and submit their ballots and in so doing influence their vote choices.
At that same time, my own mother was in a Care Facility and in her nineties. She was suffering with early dementia. I helped her fill out her ballot. It was difficult, even for me, because she wanted to vote for someone that I wasn't voting for. She didn't understand beyond just the President, all the other items on the ballot. Even when I read information provided by the county explaining what the different Amendments, Propositions, etc. she struggled to understand. I tried hard to faithfully vote her wishes, although I knew it was possible to sway her in her decisions. What about a young person, earning extra cash, and being enthusiastic about their own choices? This is an unintended consequence if there ever was one.
There has been much said by all parties and affiliations about whether a mail-in vote can be manipulated, double counted, not checked for proper ID, etc. Much is available to show the potential hazzards. Do your own research!
We all need to think long and hard about what consequences we want in the elections of the future. Are safe, secure and accurate elections possible today?
It is up to each of us to demand that they are! Do your part, please. We need to make this a priority
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