# Voting 2026 - Good, Bad, and Ugly **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 9, 2026, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700 "2026-10-09T16:24:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/61 "2026-10-16T12:22:04Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > > [@dtilque](#): > > > > Ballots received before Election Day were processed (I did some of the processing) but the votes were not counted until after the polls were closed on Election Day. I thought that was pretty much standard procedure in all states. > > Going by the link I gave, that is not the case in Washington State. Well, it is and it isn’t. After a ballot is received and verified, it gets scanned in, and stored. So, there is already a machine with your votes in it. But those votes aren’t **tabulated** until 8 PM on election night. See this infographic. You’re not disagreeing with me. I didn’t say exactly what the preprocessing was in my county. But it actually includes scanning the ballot into the computer but not actually counting the votes. So the procedures are pretty much the same in both states. My contribution, along with a couple dozen or more other temp workers, was to remove them from the envelopes and flatten them for scanning. Also give them a visual scan for certain disqualifying things, which I never found. I did however, once have a ballot which had been torn into about 20 small squares, neatly stacked and placed into the security envelope. This was in the 2016 election and the voter was probably unsatisfied with their choice for President. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/62 "2026-10-16T13:18:35Z")
This seems to be both non-partisan and relevant: [Whose Mail-In Ballots Are Not Showing Up?](https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/mail-in-ballot-young-rich/) > [@](#): > > small discrepancies are often fatal to mail-in voting ballots, which follow far more stringent laws, including, for example, the fact that mail-in ballots are not forwardable to new addresses, nor deliverable to ambiguous addresses like my single family home which somehow has 307 apartments in it, as a matter of election integrity. . . . > > While significant grassroots energy goes toward helping older or poorer voters imperfectly-filled out ballots, there is less investment to address undeliverable ballots _before_ they are sent, particularly amongst groups not traditionally perceived as at-risk like wealthier voters. > > To fix this, election administrators and community groups should prioritize digital outreach — encouraging voters to update their address records online via the **[PA Voter Services Portal](https://www.pavoterservices.pa.gov/pages/sureportalhome.aspx)** well before mailings begin. > > Given that 80 percent of the problems in this dataset are driven by deliverability (not badly-filled-out-ballots), addressing these problems may improve on voter participation more than focusing only on ballots that were successfully delivered but imperfectly filled out. My guess is that the richer Philadelphians whose ballots are undeliverable live in condos and apartments – and are disproportionately Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/63 "2026-10-16T14:07:31Z")
Early voting started Oct 6 in Ohio. I took my local Democratic party flyer with all of the backed judges marked, and went to the county BOE to vote at lunch time. There were probably about 100 voters there, and 20 workers manning the entrance, check-in and final scan. There was no waiting in line. But the guy I gave my ID to had a hard time getting it to scan. We both kind of looked at each other tensely but I assured him I was registered and had checked multiple times. He even had to get someone over to help him and it worked. “User error” he said. I said no problem, thanks for helping. No reason to fuss. My BOE moved to a new building last year, and it worked out well for this early-in-person-voting push. They have about 3x as much room now and a Wal-Mart-sized parking lot so there was plenty of room for everyone, and a few folks from the Sheriff’s department as well. Speaking of moving the BOE - I had switched to using MapQuest as my GPS this summer, after all the bullshit with “Lake America” (they were the only system that didn’t switch to using Lake America) and looked up the BOE address. They had it at the old location! I reported it to MapQuest and let people know on Facebook and Reddit. It’s still not fixed, 2 days on. But hopefully the user base is small enough that it won’t be an issue. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/64 "2026-10-16T20:22:45Z")
Got my ballot in the mail today and I’ll be filling it out and dropping it off most likely this weekend. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/65 "2026-10-16T21:47:06Z")
My wife and I got emails last evening saying that our ballots, deposited in the cluster box outgoing mail slot two days before, had been received by the county election office. ---
**Author:** ![Ancient\_Nerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed655f/32.png) [@Ancient\_Nerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ancient_Nerd)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/66 "2026-10-16T22:10:13Z")
Before the pandemic, almost all of the voting in California was in-person. We had about 20,000 precincts. On election day, there would be two or three people sitting at a folding table at each one. They would verify that you were eligible and hand you your ballot to mark up. The verification step was done by about 50,000 people during the 13 hour period when the polls were open. It seems likely that there are far fewer people handling that task now that we vote by mail. That is why it takes longer now. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/67 "2026-10-16T22:23:21Z")
I got my mail-in ballot today, and hand-delivered it to the courthouse. It sounds like they have enough people to count ballots, but I’m willing to be wait-listed if they have people who cancel or no-show. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/68 "2026-10-16T22:34:25Z")
So, just wanted to update my timeline for my Colorado Ballot to show how _smooth_ the process can be for a state-wide ballot-by-mail election, without the administration injecting itself. Monday October 5th 8:12 AM - get a text advising El Paso County Elections has sent my 2026 Election mail ballot to me. Wednesday October 7th - received ballot, though I didn’t complete it since I was leaving on vacation next morning. October 12th, completed ballot in about 90 minutes after using three or four different online resources (including the Indivisible link I shared above) to evaluate the candidates, state, and local issues. Waited until my hard working wife had a chance to finish hers (Thursday Night) so I could drop off both at a secure ballot bot. Friday, October 16th, ~11am, dropped off both completed ballots at the secure, drive through drop off two miles from me (there was one within a long walking distance as well!). Friday, October 16th 3:23PM (IE _only_ four hours later) I have a text, advising “Your mail ballot has been accepted & will be counted. Counting can begin on 10/19 per CO law.” Website link available for more information. So I had clear instructions as to when it was sent, it arrived timely, and when dropped off I had information that it was accepted within _hours_ and if there had been an issue, I’d have had plenty of time to fix it. Or, for that matter, still been able to go to a local voting location when they open (listed on the original mailer) to request an in-person ballot and handle it that way if needed. Note also Colorado Law on when they can begin counting to ease the election day dump! But somehow, this is “not secure” or “subject to abuse”. Poppycock I say! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2026, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/69 "2026-10-17T03:49:21Z")
In CA I voted by mail today. The hard part was the propositions. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2026, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/70 "2026-10-17T11:17:25Z")
So far, 70 posts in, it seems most of the news is good, not bad nor ugly. One hopes that continues. One is not entirely optimistic. But there is this fresh Pit thread to provide equal time for the Ugly POV: > [@I foolishly thought I could rely on Georgia's Secretary of State to do the job and I would get to vote in this November's election](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-foolishly-thought-i-could-rely-on-georgias-secretary-of-state-to-do-the-job-and-i-would-get-to-vote-in-this-novembers-election/1033907): > > All the information I’m supposed to get so I can vote absentee overseas is purportedly at [https://www.securevotega.com/](https://www.securevotega.com/). Yeah, right. On top of that being down hard, if I somehow manage to get the ballot via email, I still have to print it out and do some magical incantations and the Dinosaurs Mating Dance (seriously, it’s like the instructions for one of the tests Matthew Dodson had to take in Space Cadet) before snail mailing (or EMS) the thing back to the office in charge of elections for the… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700.md?page=3)