# 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:** 11\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2026, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/121 "2026-10-30T02:09:12Z")
I just voted earlier this evening (as did my son), under the new Early Voting procedure here in Connecticut. Interestingly, they had the whole shebang set up with the optical scanners and everything, just like they do on election day. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for two full weeks before the election, with extended hours two days (including today). They also still have the traditional absentee voting, in which you can vote in person any time the Town Clerk’s office is open, or by mail. This requires you to seal your ballot into two envelopes. As noted, you can either do this in person or by mail, and it started on October 2nd. It wasn’t a difficult decision, as I consider anyone still in the Republican Party in 2026 to be a [member of the cult](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EREm4M-34-4&t=2s). Seriously, I wouldn’t vote for a Republican for dog catcher these days. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2026, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/122 "2026-10-30T06:12:17Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Seriously, I wouldn’t vote for a Republican for dog catcher these days. Or County Coroner, if that is still an elective office anywhere. How could you lie about THAT? ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2026, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/123 "2026-10-30T09:42:20Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Seriously, I wouldn’t vote for a Republican for dog catcher these days. Hang on now. Is this GOP dog catcher going to only get rid of the criminal dogs? With the proper warrants? Without smoke bombs? You know, as promised in the campaign rallies? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2026, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/124 "2026-10-30T13:15:58Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Or County Coroner, if that is still an elective office anywhere It is. Running unopposed here, on the R line. So was my state assembly. I just left those lines blank. Everybody else had a D opponent. I kept up my lifetime record of splitting the ticket, though, by voting for state comptroller on the Working Families line. In NY candidates can run on more than one party line; the votes from each line are added together and count for their total vote. The Democrats on my ballot were also on the Working Families line; the Republicans were also on the Conservative line. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2026, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/125 "2026-10-30T17:33:25Z")
I dropped my ballot into a drop box on Monday morning. On Tuesday afternoon I got an email saying it had been received and will be counted. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2026, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/126 "2026-10-30T18:53:27Z")
Went to the nearest early voting site at lunchtime today because the county website was showing a wait of 10 minutes or less. Correct: I left home at 12:45 and was walking back to my car from the voting site at 1pm. Three cars turned into the parking lot ahead of me, but when I went in there was only one person ahead of me in line! A couple of the many, many signs at the precise prescribed distance from the polling place doors 🙂 weren’t for a candidate or referendum, they were an exhortation to “Vote against Medicare-For-All candidates.” I’m guessing it’s a GOP thing while avoiding writing “GOP” or “Republican,” which would remind voters of the orange-faced toupee’d elephant in the room. 😉 ---
**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 30, 2026, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/127 "2026-10-30T19:58:12Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > A couple of the many, many signs at the precise prescribed distance from the polling place doors 🙂 weren’t for a candidate or referendum, they were an exhortation to “Vote against Medicare-For-All candidates.” Is it smart to remind people that Republicans want to avoid providing people with health care? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2026, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/128 "2026-10-30T20:39:04Z")
[https://www.axios.com/2026/10/30/doj-california-noncitizen-voter-list-court](https://www.axios.com/2026/10/30/doj-california-noncitizen-voter-list-court) > A federal appeals court rejected the Justice Department’s emergency bid to set aside mail ballots tied to more than [20,000 California voters](https://www.axios.com/2026/10/15/trump-doj-california-voters-ballots-lawsuit) the [Trump](https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump) administration suspects are noncitizens. > > **Why it matters:** The 2–1 ruling leaves California’s election procedures intact just days before the midterms, with the judges citing doubts about the DOJ’s voter list and the risk of disenfranchising eligible voters. > > - The ruling is a major setback for a DOJ that has [doubled down](https://www.axios.com/2026/10/29/midterms-election-lawsuits-ballot-disputes) on unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud in the Golden State. > > **What they’re saying:** The majority cited the lower court’s finding that the DOJ’s process for identifying suspected noncitizens was “not credible,” undermining its claims. Another attempt to disenfranchise voters blocked. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2026, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/129 "2026-10-30T23:42:41Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Seriously, I wouldn’t vote for a Republican for dog catcher these days. Here in Arizona it’s [Inspector of Mines](https://asmi.az.gov/). The incumbent Republican was the only name on the ballot. I left it blank. ---
**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 30, 2026, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/130 "2026-10-30T23:53:37Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Is it smart to remind people that Republicans want to avoid providing people with health care? It’s certainly smart to remind the people who don’t believe in Medicare for Those People just how horrible that’d be. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700/131 "2026-10-31T03:22:56Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Here in Arizona it’s [Inspector of Mines](https://asmi.az.gov/). The incumbent Republican was the only name on the ballot. I left it blank. If you’re going to send anyone into a deep, dark, uncomfortable hole, wouldn’t you rather it be someone you disagree with politically? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-2026-good-bad-and-ugly/1033700.md?page=6)