Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

In this Discussion

Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.

    Support MFO

  • Donate through PayPal

How Do You Know Your Vote Was Counted

My friends have received emails confirming their vote was counted after dropping it off at the county office. I did the same thing but have not received any emails. Has anyone else had this experience? Is it worth being concerned about?

Comments

  • edited October 2020
    Lewis - Not sure if it would help, but many states allow you to track ballots online to insure they are received. The link for Pennsylvania is embedded below. I realize this doesn’t fully answer your question, but might help. BTW - In Michigan you can also confirm online that your ballot was counted. I actually received a political advertisement which accurately listed the last several elections in which I voted. I found that both “spooky” and reassuring at the same time. I’ve voted absentee for many years, as November is one of my prime travel months.

    “On ( link ) you can track your ballot. You'll need to enter your first and last name, birthdate and county you live in. It will then show you ballot results; the type of ballot you requested, when the application was received, processed, mailed, and the voted ballot received back to your county bureau of elections office. “

    I share your concerns. I drove a considerable distance to hand deliver my completed absentee ballot to a post office. It was addressed to the township clerk who uses a P.O. box at that location. As in the past, I requested it be placed directly in the clerk’s local P.O. box instead of being routed to a regional facility first. After accepting and post-marking the ballot, the clerk informed me that new regulations prohibit them from hand delivering mail directly to their own P.O. boxes. Instead, it would have to be transported to a regional center about 50 miles away because “They want to count them.” She claimed that the rule applied to all local mail - not just ballots - but I tend not to believe that..

    Michigan does allow tracking ballots online which I intend to do. Still, I’d rather it not travel the circuitous route - thinking the fewer hands that handle it the better. Not sure about all states, but if you’ve voted in a primary election in Michigan your party affiliation is a matter of public record - which helps explain my apprehensions. If folks have reason to think absentee ballots weren’t received, voting at the polls is still a viable option.
  • Thanks, Hank. I tried one of the links and found the info I was looking for.:-)
  • Remember when we were 99.99999% confident that our votes were being counted and processed correctly?
  • Well, maybe excepting Chicago...
  • In Chicago, they're 199.99999% confident:-)
    https://strong.academic.wlu.edu/humor/the-dead-vote-in-chicago-elections/ (humor)

    Thanks for the reminder. My local BOE system shows that the post office received my ballot 1.5 weeks ago, but that it is not even "out for delivery" to the BOE yet. I just sent email to the BOE to inquire as to what I should see, and whether corrective actions are appropriate.
  • Maricopa County has received my ballot and counted it.

    I voted in person this year. I didn't want any screw ups. No lines. No wackos.
  • edited October 2020
    I just checked and mine was received (and dated). Gotta love our Michigan Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson - a very sharp and proficient gal. She’s really got her s*** together on the voting stuff.

    Bio on Jocelyn Benson

    Excerpt - “Benson graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College, where she founded the now-annual Women in American Political Activism conference and was the first student to be elected to serve in the governing body for the town of Wellesley, Massachusetts. She subsequently earned her Master's in Sociology as a Marshall Scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford, in the United Kingdom, conducting research into the sociological implications of white supremacy and neo-Nazism.“
  • "research into the sociological implications of white supremacy and neo-Nazism."

    Well, she's certainly well equipped to anticipate the moves of the current administration.
  • Moves there will be. Buckle up. Bumpy ahead.
  • msf said:

    In Chicago, they're 199.99999% confident:-)
    https://strong.academic.wlu.edu/humor/the-dead-vote-in-chicago-elections/ (humor)

    Thanks for the reminder. My local BOE system shows that the post office received my ballot 1.5 weeks ago, but that it is not even "out for delivery" to the BOE yet. I just sent email to the BOE to inquire as to what I should see, and whether corrective actions are appropriate.

    @msf: I hope your ballot found its way home.
  • @WABAC Thanks for the thought. I didn't get a response to the email I sent the Board of Elections, so I called. They told me that with so many ballots coming in, they hadn't posted information about any of the ballots they'd received. Fortunately they did post early last week and our ballots had been validated.

    If they hadn't been, we were planning to vote early. Fortunately, our early voting polling place had "only" one hour lines, compared with several hours at other local sites. It was heartwarming to see those voting lines, especially in contrast to the breadlines we'd seen earlier in the year at the same location.
  • @msf: Glad to hear it.
Sign In or Register to comment.