nobody's_hero
11-03-2010, 12:26 PM
This post has much to do with the U.S. GA-2 which was neck-and-neck last night between incumbent Democrat Sanford Bishop, Jr. and Republican challenger Mike Keown. But, I would like to consider the issue in broader terms as I'm sure this happens in other places.
Situation:
After counting the early (in-person) and election-day votes, less than two-hundred votes separated the two candidates before I went to bed last night at around midnight, and the only remaining votes to be counted were absentee ballots from the most heavily democratic cities in southwest Georgia (Columbus, GA — where Sanford Bishop, Jr's district office is located — and Albany, GA).
After the absentee ballots were counted, Bishop has won at 51.4% and Keown got 48.6% (no third-parties in this race).
Now, I'm not usually one to throw around accusations of vote-fraud, but I do question whether "absentee" voting may be more risky than convenient. Obviously, in this case, those votes were the deciding factor, and personally, if you're too lazy to show up to vote in person, but still want to be heard, then you ought not vote.
Having heard the stories of nursing home residents (many barely coherent in their old age) getting "assistance" in filling out absentee ballots, and considering that other similar abuses are possible, does anyone think that this method of voting is a threat to the integrity of the system?
(Of course, at this point, 'voting' in general is probably a threat to 'integrity' :p, but I wanted this to be a serious question)
Situation:
After counting the early (in-person) and election-day votes, less than two-hundred votes separated the two candidates before I went to bed last night at around midnight, and the only remaining votes to be counted were absentee ballots from the most heavily democratic cities in southwest Georgia (Columbus, GA — where Sanford Bishop, Jr's district office is located — and Albany, GA).
After the absentee ballots were counted, Bishop has won at 51.4% and Keown got 48.6% (no third-parties in this race).
Now, I'm not usually one to throw around accusations of vote-fraud, but I do question whether "absentee" voting may be more risky than convenient. Obviously, in this case, those votes were the deciding factor, and personally, if you're too lazy to show up to vote in person, but still want to be heard, then you ought not vote.
Having heard the stories of nursing home residents (many barely coherent in their old age) getting "assistance" in filling out absentee ballots, and considering that other similar abuses are possible, does anyone think that this method of voting is a threat to the integrity of the system?
(Of course, at this point, 'voting' in general is probably a threat to 'integrity' :p, but I wanted this to be a serious question)