# Why don't they do elections like Oregon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 29, 2016, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-they-do-elections-like-oregon/773417 "2016-11-29T23:22:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-they-do-elections-like-oregon/773417/41 "2016-11-30T17:23:08Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > You mean, so that they could check up on who you voted for? That’s going to bother some people. But they would automatically have a signed paper record to audit. I never thought about someone putting me on a list. I guess that is something to consider now that DT is coming into office? Are you thinking along the lines that anyone that didn’t vote for him could be on a list of hostile voters? If I was an R or a D party operative, I think the list would be interesting. Maybe it would be something to look at along the lines of “we didn’t get these people to vote for us, let’s figure out what’s up with our message that doesn’t appeal to them.” Maybe that’s naive as well. I’m not naturally paranoid. I probably should be though with the way people talk on the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-they-do-elections-like-oregon/773417/42 "2016-11-30T17:42:26Z")
> [@Translucent\_Daydream](#): > > But they would automatically have a signed paper record to audit. I never thought about someone putting me on a list. I guess that is something to consider now that DT is coming into office? Are you thinking along the lines that anyone that didn’t vote for him could be on a list of hostile voters? I’m just thinking that it wouldn’t be entirely a [secret ballot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_ballot), which some people think is important. ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-they-do-elections-like-oregon/773417/43 "2016-11-30T18:41:02Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I’m just thinking that it wouldn’t be entirely a [secret ballot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_ballot), which some people think is important. That article was interesting I never heard of that before. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-they-do-elections-like-oregon/773417/44 "2016-11-30T22:00:44Z")
> [@Translucent\_Daydream](#): > > I suppose that could be true. It seems likely to fail an audit if they ever checked though because my signature had to match what the DMV here had on file on my ballot. They made a big deal here telling me to make sure it matched. Maybe, but they could also “lose” your ballot if you come from the wrong 'hood ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-they-do-elections-like-oregon/773417/45 "2016-12-01T00:20:58Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Maybe, but they could also “lose” your ballot if you come from the wrong 'hood I think there is a way that I can log onto the internet to check and see if my vote was counted. I am in Oregon and the vote appears to have gone like I would have suspected, so I haven’t followed up, but there is some sort of follow up process, at least in Washington County, Oregon. It was written in the mailer that contains instructions on how to fill out the ballot properly, but it went into the recycle bin after I sent the ballots off into the mailbox. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-they-do-elections-like-oregon/773417/46 "2016-12-01T04:27:11Z")
Yes, in Oregon you can track your ballot online. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-they-do-elections-like-oregon/773417/47 "2016-12-01T04:58:24Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > According to the Chronicle and Morning News, people did, in fact, wait for hours in Houston and Dallas for hours to vote - during those early voting times. That’s why early voting doesn’t always produce higher turnout. Early voting by necessity involves fewer polling stations, and if those are crowded, some people will say, “Well, I tried once, don’t think I’m willing to wait in line like that again.” ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-they-do-elections-like-oregon/773417/48 "2016-12-01T07:29:27Z")
I worked as an Election Board Member (i.e. ballot opener – temporary job) for the county the OP is in. I had a long post written up about what we did and the procedures for counting ballots. Unfortunately, I accidently erased it and I don’t feel like retyping it up. But I can assure you we didn’t “lose” anyone’s ballot, no matter what neighborhood they came from. It may be easier to commit election fraud with an all-mail-in election, but I’m not convinced of that. Rather I think it’s easier to commit such fraud with numerous precinct voting places and many more people involved in the process. At any rate, all the signatures on the outer envelope were compared with those on the voter registration by trained elections personnel and any that didn’t match were rejected. So anyone stealing ballots from mail boxes won’t be able to illegally vote that way. I agree that 100% vote-by-mail is gthe way to go. Three west coast states have it: Oregon, Washington and Colorado. I expect California will probABLY COPY US SOONER OR LATER. And yes, Colorado is a west coast state. They just forgot to be actually on the coast. But in so many ways they’re like the west coast, they may as well be considered one. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-they-do-elections-like-oregon/773417/49 "2016-12-01T07:35:20Z")
If we really wanted to devise a system that made voting easy, convenient and 99.99% secure, we could do it. Both political parties _dream_ of that, its just that when the Republicans dream about it, they wake up screaming. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-they-do-elections-like-oregon/773417/50 "2016-12-01T08:39:46Z")
> [@Translucent\_Daydream](#): > > If he is going to be president wouldn’t he have it already? I mean if it exists I would figure both sides check the list against the votes logged. Maybe I’m naive. There isn’t a central list of US citizens, except the ones who have been naturalized I guess. I think common law countries tend not to do that kind of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-they-do-elections-like-oregon/773417/51 "2016-12-01T08:51:18Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Because if you look at the actual vote in Oregon that passed that measure, not a single Republican state representative voted for the measure. I’ve asked here before what makes automatic registration so partisan, but have not received any answers. It’s not that way in every state. One Republican-controlled legislature has passed it too (in West Virginia). ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-they-do-elections-like-oregon/773417/52 "2016-12-01T14:03:38Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > It’s not that way in every state. One Republican-controlled legislature has passed it too (in West Virginia). Well, that’s good news. I see that bill also included voter ID requirements as well. ---
**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:** [December 1, 2016, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-they-do-elections-like-oregon/773417/53 "2016-12-01T15:35:41Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > In particular, one very active absentee ballot “witness,” Deborah Monroe, who was apparently personally validating validated at least 67 mail-in absentee ballots, appears to have written in “Franklin Graham” as a write-in candidate at least 71 times. > > The suspicion is that Deborah Monroe, and perhaps others, fraudulently filled out scores of ballots and submitted them in, essentially voting many many times on behalf of others. Er… yeah. Somebody filled in a whole bunch of fake ballots with an arbitrary write-in name that would call attention to them. :rolleyes: Next, Encyclopedia Brown will tackle the suspicion raised by the dozen full handprints left by a thief who took the time to freshly paint a wall just so he could leave his prints on the scene. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-they-do-elections-like-oregon/773417/54 "2016-12-04T03:07:13Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > \ > We are, for all intents and purposes, a one-party state. If they wanted to quash mail-in voting, they could. i think we have identified why the republicans don’t have a problem making it easy to vote in Utah. They are just being nice to their constituents at no risk to themselves. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Call_Me.Tim)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-they-do-elections-like-oregon/773417/55 "2016-12-06T03:15:49Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I’m just thinking that it wouldn’t be entirely a [secret ballot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_ballot), which some people think is important. The thing about the existence of a way to tell how you voted that can be verified is that it could lead to vote buying, e.g. Vote [for/against] Initiative X in the election next week! [Non-U.S. based address] will send $5 to everyone who sends us proof of voting that way! (Or give you discounts at stores, access to promotional media content, etc. etc.) Not being able to prove who you voted for prevents this sort of thing from being practical, and is why we’d have to look very carefully at any open ballot scheme that might enable people to demonstrate how they voted as a quid pro quo. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-they-do-elections-like-oregon/773417/56 "2016-12-06T03:21:43Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Richard Mawrey QC, who tries cases of electoral fraud, told the BBC that people should not be able to apply for postal votes as a matter of course. When he made that quote, I’m afraid he was very, very drunk. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-they-do-elections-like-oregon/773417/57 "2016-12-06T15:46:10Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Nobody has to wait hours to vote in Texas. Early voting is available in numerous places for weeks before Election Day. We Texans have ample opportunities to vote. Um, no. Early voting is only available where the county has the resources to have it and is willing to spend those resources. In my county, early voting was available only at the county courthouse. That is pretty convenient for me, but is a thirty-minute one-way drive for many people in my county. Also, early voting is only for two weeks prior to election day. It can be during normal office hours UNLESS a petition is filed requesting more time. There is also no weekend voting UNLESS a petition is filed requesting it. So, again in my county, early voting was 8:00AM-5:00PM during the first week, a few hours on Saturday and Sunday, and 7:00AM-7:00PM during the second week. There was only that much because I collected the required signatures and got the two petitions turned in. Do you think my Republican friends did it? Nope. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-they-do-elections-like-oregon/773417/58 "2016-12-06T16:07:11Z")
Neither of my Republican friends would do that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-they-do-elections-like-oregon/773417.md?page=2)