# Voting by Mail in 2020: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 30, 2020, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897 "2020-04-30T14:35:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897/221 "2020-10-02T10:29:34Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > It’s a similar reason to why I don’t see widespread violence happening if Trump loses. I expect that most of the 101st Keyboard Division will scurry back under their rocks after a few incidents of violence lead to the perpetrators being made serious examples of. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897/222 "2020-10-02T10:57:02Z")
More on the Texas situation. > **[Governor says all counties can have just 1 each - San Antonio Express, 10/2/2020](http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/SanAntonioExpressNews/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=SAEN%2F2020%2F10%2F02&entity=Ar00106&sk=DDFCA426&mode=text)** > > San Antonio Express - 10/2/2020 > …Travis County [Austin], with more than 800,000 registered voters spread out over 1,000 square miles, had just opened four dropoff sites Thursday. > > Harris County [Houston], home to more than 2 million registered voters across more than 1,700 square miles, had 12 sites that opened Monday. > > Neighboring Fort Bend County, where almost 400,000 registered voters reside, had announced it would have five sites just hours before Abbott issued his proclamation… It’s not like these places were going to have FIFTY drop-off locations that might be difficult to keep track of. Now all of these will just have ONE drop-off location. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897/223 "2020-10-02T14:51:53Z")
I would think that there would a lot of Republicans who, if they had their druthers, would rather drop their ballot in the mail than stand interminably in a line in some basement. Is it their assumption that only Democrats want to vote by mail? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897/224 "2020-10-02T19:55:54Z")
Maryland authorities are warning people not to give their ballots over to people coming to the door telling them they’ll turn their ballots in for them. > **[Warning as People 'Going Door-To-Door' To Illegally Collect Voting Ballots](https://www.newsweek.com/ballot-vote-maryland-collect-anne-arundel-1535901)** > > The Anne Arundel County Board of Elections advise not to give a stranger your ballot following reports of suspicious behavior. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897/225 "2020-10-02T20:05:47Z")
> [@urbanredneck2](#): > > What is the process to ensure a person doesnt do a mail in ballot then go later and vote in person? What is the process for making sure that a person doesn’t vote in person multiple times? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897/226 "2020-10-02T21:08:57Z")
That does seem to be conventional wisdom: Democrats are more inclined to VBM than Republicans. i don’t know origin of that knowledge, but there it is. ---
**Author:** ![Enkidu1971](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Enkidu1971](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkidu1971)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897/227 "2020-10-02T22:14:04Z")
The process of making sure people don’t vote twice is straightforward, at least in Minnesota. In the old days with paper voter rosters the signature space of a voter for whom the county had received an absentee ballot was marked with a red A.B. No place to sign, no ballot to vote. We’d get updates by phone several times on election day, and I’d stamp the appropriate signature spaces by hand. Now we use Ipads for voter check-in, and the roster is updated automatically via a vpn. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897/228 "2020-10-04T01:13:51Z")
I have a question. I mailed my ballot and Virginia states they received my ballot on 09/30/2020. So far, so good. But I scrolled down and clicked on my ballot status and the message said **Ballot Information Was not Found**. I emailed the registrar but haven’t received a response. Does anyone know what this means? ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897/229 "2020-10-04T03:25:38Z")
I don’t know but it is concerning! ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897/230 "2020-10-04T10:49:42Z")
> [@medstar](#): > > I have a question. I mailed my ballot and Virginia states they received my ballot on 09/30/2020. So far, so good. But I scrolled down and clicked on my ballot status and the message said **Ballot Information Was not Found**. I emailed the registrar but haven’t received a response. Does anyone know what this means? I wonder if it’s an unhelpfully worded way of saying, “we haven’t done anything with it yet.” It appears that Virginia doesn’t mandate, but does allow, ballots to be opened and counted before election day; the state does not appear to allow vote totals to be released prior to election night. The state looks like it allows each district to decide for themselves whether they need the time provided by opening and counting ballots early in order to smooth out the process. So, I could see that being some coder’s way of saying, “no new information regarding your ballot,” if it hasn’t been opened yet and is being held until election day. Like you, though, I would be concerned and calling my local election official for clarification. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897/231 "2020-10-04T11:52:54Z")
Okay, thanks. I hope it doesn’t mean that they found something wrong with it and threw it away. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897/232 "2020-10-04T15:32:16Z")
There was a segment on public radio yesterday (pretty sure it was This American Life), interviewing a county election official, and her scoffing at the concept of election fraud in any form. We need a shit ton more of this kind of reporting, and it’s disappointing that the media hasn’t stepped up. The way to counter misinformation is with real fact-based information. We need stories every day from every outlet that go into detail about how ballots are collected, controls and quality checks and verification and signature checks and balancing between mail-in and in-person and all that good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![urbanredneck2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/5f8ce5/32.png) [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897/233 "2020-10-05T15:10:45Z")
You said this was NPR? You realize NPR is a bit on the leftwing side. I wish I could ask her some questions rather than a NPR reporter who panders to them (BTW, I am a regular NPR listener of KCUR 98.3 in Kansas City). Yes, in many areas the election officials are honest as you can get. But others, like in strong liberal strongholds like major cities, do you actually expect those people to be honest? When you have democrats as mayor, city manager, county manager, and just about every position from governor down to dog catcher do you really expect those people to be fair? Heck no. They will pull every trick in the book to keep their power. ---
**Author:** ![urbanredneck2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/5f8ce5/32.png) [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897/234 "2020-10-05T15:13:29Z")
You do realize also in places like San Francisco (maybe even all of California I’m not sure) they allow illegal immigrants to vote. How can you trust those election officials? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897/235 "2020-10-05T15:14:56Z")
Surely you can back up such a ridiculous claim with a credible cite? ---
**Author:** ![urbanredneck2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/5f8ce5/32.png) [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897/236 "2020-10-05T15:29:58Z")
There is [this article](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261379414000973) which states: “We find that some non-citizens participate in U.S. elections, and that this participation has been large enough to change meaningful election outcomes including Electoral College votes, and Congressional elections.” It has [happened in Florida](https://ballotpedia.org/Fact_check/Have_non-citizens_voted_in_recent_Florida_elections). This article says in [California one doesnt need to show ID to vote](https://www.foxnews.com/media/illegal-immigrants-voting-election-integrity) so an illegal could very well vote there. You see again, it comes down to local election officials. So say an illegal shows up, wants to vote, but has no ID or a fake ID, whats to keep them from voting? Why didnt that NPR reporter ask that question? ---
**Author:** ![urbanredneck2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/5f8ce5/32.png) [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897/237 "2020-10-05T15:30:09Z")
And then [THIS](https://thehill.com/opinion/immigration/440136-if-you-dont-think-illegal-immigrants-are-voting-for-president-think-again) article says that while TECHNICALLY illegals cannot vote, the ARE counted in the census and since congressional votes are based on census numbers, and democrats tend to hold sway in urban areas, this gives democrats more votes. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897/238 "2020-10-05T15:39:38Z")
Yes, “illegals” (or undocumented residents, as I prefer to call them) are counted in the census, because the Constitution doesn’t exclude them. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897/239 "2020-10-05T15:43:06Z")
> [@urbanredneck2](#): > > This article says in [California one doesnt need to show ID to vote](https://www.foxnews.com/media/illegal-immigrants-voting-election-integrity) so an illegal could very well vote there. > > You see again, it comes down to local election officials. So say an illegal shows up, wants to vote, but has no ID or a fake ID, whats to keep them from voting? So Jose Illegal shows up at the polling location to vote and when asked his name, what is he telling the poll worker? “Hmm, we can’t find a Jose Illegal in the list of voters.” How exactly is this supposed to work? ---
**Author:** ![pieceoftheuniverse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7993a0/32.png) [@pieceoftheuniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pieceoftheuniverse)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897/240 "2020-10-05T15:55:58Z")
First claim: elected Democratic party members in charge of cities will pull every trick in the book to keep their power. No idea how to prove or disprove this. Second claim: San Francisco allows non-citizens to vote. [Partially true](https://sfelections.sfgov.org/non-citizen-registration-and-voting). Non-citizens can vote only in school board elections. Third claim: California allows non-citizens to vote: [Not true](https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voting-resources/voting-california/who-can-vote-california). It is against federal law for non-citizens to vote in federal elections. Fourth claim: California voters do not have to present ID when voting. [Partially true](https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/where-and-how). More information: > In most cases, California voters are not required to show identification at their polling place. However, it is a good idea to bring identification with you when you vote for the first time. A poll worker may ask to see your identification Fifth claim: Non-citizens have voted in Florida. Unproven. According to the ballotpedia link offered: > However, the actual number of non-citizens who have voted could not be confirmed. [An official report](https://www.politico.com/states/f/?id=00000172-3411-d930-a77f-b7b786800001) indicates that there was no proof of voter fraud in Florida during the 2018 elections. Sixth claim: Non-citizens have voted in California. Unproven. I cannot find any hard evidence either way. If there was a valid official complaint made, there should be a report (just as in Florida), but, as far as I can tell, no such report exists. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-by-mail-in-2020-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/852897.md?page=13)