Archy1221
Well-known member
Is the personnel attack necessary?
Sarcasm may have gone past you while reading the posts.
What is the future of the Republican Party?
- Thread starter Scarlet
- Start date
Sarcasm may have gone past you while reading the posts.
alexhortdog95
New member
I'm still waiting on your actual, factual response to this conversation, instead of a bunch of bluster.
alexhortdog95
New member
Even sarcasm has to be explained from time to time. But I honestly don't believe that this is sarcasm.
And this isn't a personal attack. When have I insulted you or spoken to you in a negative, insulting way? I'm only asking you to explain yourself.
Enhance
Administrator
That isn't really necessary.
And neither is this.
Please find a better way to communicate with one another.
alexhortdog95
New member
Understood and committed to the brain cells.
Apologies if I have offended.
EDIT - I really am trying to understand the thought process of those who believe our elections are rigged in this country. I have inside knowledge of the process, having worked a few elections here in Nebraska.
I believe in talking out the problem instead of talking past each other.
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alexhortdog95
New member
Let me be the olive branch here. Part 1...
I had to look up the actual definition of "Ballot Harvesting."
Here is the site where I got said definition: https://republicans-cha.house.gov/threat-ballot-harvesting
Ballot harvesting is the practice in which political operatives collect absentee ballots from voters’ homes and drop them off at a polling place or election office.
I also found this random definition as well: https://www.cato.org/blog/trouble-ballot-harvesting
For those coming in late, ballot harvesting or ballot collection happens when one person gathers absentee/mail ballots from many voters – bundling, you might say – for submission at a mail or drop box. This obviously happens on an innocuous micro scale when someone offers to post the completed ballot of a spouse or disabled friend, so it’s usual to define the threshold by reference to quantity (you’re not a collector unless you accept more than, say, three or six ballots) or relationship (it’s okay to do it for family members or persons with a specified incapacity).
Okay, so I'll just take this one on from the Nebraska point of view.
In Douglas County, any eligible voter can request a mail in ballot be sent to their place of residence. The absentee ballot must be requested by the specified deadline (which is on the Douglas County Election Commission's website). Once a person requests a ballot, they cannot request a 2nd ballot. The ballot mailed to that person has a specific ballot number on it, and it shows up in the Commission's computer system that it was already mailed.
Each ballot requires a valid signature on the back part of the envelope. Mail in ballots are cured (signatures checked, properly filled out, those things) and can begin to be counted starting I believe the Monday prior to election day.
IF a ballot does not past curing - then the Commission suspends the ballot in their system. This shows up on the election commission website as well. You can call and speak with the staff up until 8:00 pm election day to correct the ballot.
NOW - as far as "harvesting" (see LB362): https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/107/PDF/Intro/LB362.pdf
Each individual state has laws on who can collect and drop off ballots at a drop box. In the state of Nebraska, it is illegal for ballots to be gathered up and dropped off by a person who is not acting as an agent for the registered voter. The agent can only act as an agent for two voters PER ELECTION. Now, if a person has proof that "harvesting" is happening, then they can report that conduct to the Election Commission in their county. In Douglas County, any person that the voter deems an agent can act as said agent.
As far as I am aware, there has never been a reported case of ballot harvesting in Nebraska. Feel free to post links to actual cases that were covered here.
I had to look up the actual definition of "Ballot Harvesting."
Here is the site where I got said definition: https://republicans-cha.house.gov/threat-ballot-harvesting
Ballot harvesting is the practice in which political operatives collect absentee ballots from voters’ homes and drop them off at a polling place or election office.
I also found this random definition as well: https://www.cato.org/blog/trouble-ballot-harvesting
For those coming in late, ballot harvesting or ballot collection happens when one person gathers absentee/mail ballots from many voters – bundling, you might say – for submission at a mail or drop box. This obviously happens on an innocuous micro scale when someone offers to post the completed ballot of a spouse or disabled friend, so it’s usual to define the threshold by reference to quantity (you’re not a collector unless you accept more than, say, three or six ballots) or relationship (it’s okay to do it for family members or persons with a specified incapacity).
Okay, so I'll just take this one on from the Nebraska point of view.
In Douglas County, any eligible voter can request a mail in ballot be sent to their place of residence. The absentee ballot must be requested by the specified deadline (which is on the Douglas County Election Commission's website). Once a person requests a ballot, they cannot request a 2nd ballot. The ballot mailed to that person has a specific ballot number on it, and it shows up in the Commission's computer system that it was already mailed.
Each ballot requires a valid signature on the back part of the envelope. Mail in ballots are cured (signatures checked, properly filled out, those things) and can begin to be counted starting I believe the Monday prior to election day.
IF a ballot does not past curing - then the Commission suspends the ballot in their system. This shows up on the election commission website as well. You can call and speak with the staff up until 8:00 pm election day to correct the ballot.
NOW - as far as "harvesting" (see LB362): https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/107/PDF/Intro/LB362.pdf
Each individual state has laws on who can collect and drop off ballots at a drop box. In the state of Nebraska, it is illegal for ballots to be gathered up and dropped off by a person who is not acting as an agent for the registered voter. The agent can only act as an agent for two voters PER ELECTION. Now, if a person has proof that "harvesting" is happening, then they can report that conduct to the Election Commission in their county. In Douglas County, any person that the voter deems an agent can act as said agent.
As far as I am aware, there has never been a reported case of ballot harvesting in Nebraska. Feel free to post links to actual cases that were covered here.
Archy1221
Well-known member
I didn’t say the election was rigged so not sure why you bring that up. I said ballot harvesting, while technically not legal, is quite easy to do with mail in voting and ballot drop boxes. I also said R’s need to figure out a way to get better at this.
alexhortdog95
New member
Part 2 (last long post, sorry):
In Nebraska, mail in ballots start to be counted the Monday prior to Election day.
At the Election Commission office on 120th and Center, there are sets of volunteer workers during election day (and prior to).
ON election day, these workers arrive around 5:30 - 6:00 am in the morning. Depending on what they do, they can stay all day, or into the night.
Volunteers are paid minimum wage for the day. You usually see the Commissioner do his early morning interview (in a suit that is too old or tight for him, lol).
There are various volunteers:
The volunteers work alongside the actual staff that works at the Election Commission office. These are the experts in elections for the county and have access to all of the data and information. They also train the volunteers prior to election day (required to be trained before you work one minute) and are very nice people.
As part of the counting process, the ballot is cured as well. Ballots are placed at a table with NO LESS than one member of each party at each of the tables. In Nebraska, there are 5 political positions - Republican, Democrat, Nonpartisan, Libertarian, and my favorite, the Legalize Marijuana Now party. Also in the room are partisan observers who are looking over the shoulder of individuals at the tables.
When a ballot is cured, there's something off about it. The envelope may not be signed, the ballot may be incomplete, you name it. These ballots are separated into another pile and given to the workers at the election commission. There is always a clean chain of custody between workers.
Most of these people that you see are elderly individuals. There are a few middle aged and maybe one or two younger individuals. This is the part that gets me about election deniers that say its rigged.
If you saw who works these elections - Meemaw and PawPaw are NOT Deepthroat here. They can be Republicans, Dems, or any other party just doing their civic duty.
In Nebraska, mail in ballots start to be counted the Monday prior to Election day.
At the Election Commission office on 120th and Center, there are sets of volunteer workers during election day (and prior to).
ON election day, these workers arrive around 5:30 - 6:00 am in the morning. Depending on what they do, they can stay all day, or into the night.
Volunteers are paid minimum wage for the day. You usually see the Commissioner do his early morning interview (in a suit that is too old or tight for him, lol).
There are various volunteers:
- Ballot counters - these individuals count and cure ballots.
- Telephone operators (that's what I did) - these individuals answer phones from the time polls open to after polls close.
- Runners - they run supplies, new empty ballots, and other various duties to an assigned polling place.
- Precinct Workers - these are the folks who work at each polling place.
The volunteers work alongside the actual staff that works at the Election Commission office. These are the experts in elections for the county and have access to all of the data and information. They also train the volunteers prior to election day (required to be trained before you work one minute) and are very nice people.
As part of the counting process, the ballot is cured as well. Ballots are placed at a table with NO LESS than one member of each party at each of the tables. In Nebraska, there are 5 political positions - Republican, Democrat, Nonpartisan, Libertarian, and my favorite, the Legalize Marijuana Now party. Also in the room are partisan observers who are looking over the shoulder of individuals at the tables.
When a ballot is cured, there's something off about it. The envelope may not be signed, the ballot may be incomplete, you name it. These ballots are separated into another pile and given to the workers at the election commission. There is always a clean chain of custody between workers.
Most of these people that you see are elderly individuals. There are a few middle aged and maybe one or two younger individuals. This is the part that gets me about election deniers that say its rigged.
If you saw who works these elections - Meemaw and PawPaw are NOT Deepthroat here. They can be Republicans, Dems, or any other party just doing their civic duty.
alexhortdog95
New member
So, you're saying that Republicans need to get better at possibly breaking the laws in their state? Sounds like election rigging to me.
I still can't find a single case here in Nebraska of what you're referring to. I did see that the Sec. of State and the former governor was warning about it.
Also - you may not have said that the election was "rigged," but speaking about ballot-harvesting is one of many topics used by individuals (maybe not you in this context, but...) to claim that there is something nefarious with the way we choose elected officials in our country.
From Brookings: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2022/10/20/democracy-on-the-ballot-what-do-election-deniers-want/
And, again, you're incorrect. Ballot harvesting, as you are describing it, isn't illegal in all 50 states. If I chose you to return my ballot here in Nebraska, you could. Here, ballot harvesting IS illegal - and I've asked for cases where it's happened. https://ballotpedia.org/Ballot_harvesting_laws_by_state
Lastly - if you're here in Nebraska, you could have voted for a ballot initiative (which passed) that requires voters to have ID at the polls now.
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Archy1221
Well-known member
I can’t be incorrect because I never did say it was illegal in every state. :dunno
another poster and I had this conversation already on this very site.
Archy1221
Well-known member
Ok. I’m not but appreciate the heads up.
not having to show ID to vote is insane.
commando
New member
alexhortdog95
New member
In states where a political party demanded that there were voter ID laws in place - and the laws were put into place - those states still had candidates that claimed there was still wide spread rigging of an election.
As far as obtaining ID, here are some statistics regarding voter ID in this country: https://www.aclu.org/fact-sheet/oppose-voter-id-legislation-fact-sheet
Lastly - the Heritage Org, a conservative think tank, reports that there were 1,384 cases of voter fraud.
But when you look into the numbers.....
The earliest claim they track is 1982. The latest claim is 2022.
Every federal election from 1920 to the present is located here: https://history.house.gov/Institution/Election-Statistics/
I just took number from 1982 to 1988. In doing the math with those FOUR YEARS ALONE, there is a .000368397% occurance of voter fraud. And that is only looking at four years (because I wasn't adding up all those darn votes). But it's basic math - that number would get smaller and smaller.
NM11046
Donor
Almost the same age ... NE, KS, Boston, MA and suburban MA and never had to show it either.
commando
New member
apparently all elections ever held without required voter id cards has been illegal according to the far right wing nut jobs.