DUers, what do you think about voting absentee?

I've noticed several posts saying that people have cast their absentee ballots.
I'm wondering about the wisdom of doing this.

Greg Palast, who knows a LOT about the ways elections are stolen, considers absentee voting to be another major opportunity for vote theft.

Any thoughts?



Link to the Palast interview where he discusses this.

http://www.liberaloasis.com/palast3.htm

snip>

...Let me tell you something else to look for in this election.

The number of absentee ballots is increasing by 500%.

There's going to be something like 15 million absentee ballots in America.

It's going to be wholesale theft...

LO: What can they do with absentee ballots that they can't do with regular ballots?

GP: One, throw them away.

You get a receipt when you register to vote, but not when you actually vote by absentee ballot.

snip>

(One) thing I recommend people do is don't vote absentee for God sakes. That's just really taking a chance with your vote.

The safest vote you can cast would be an early vote.

Go right into your elections supervisor's office and cast a vote right there, because if there's any challenge to your vote you'll have a chance to correct it.

snip>

I fear my vote will not be counted. I could be way off but that's how I feel.

I realize there is a need for absentee voting for various reasons.
My wife says of her grandmother who had a stroke in Oct. 2000 and died in Nov. that she would have voted absentee if she had known she was going to be sick, just to make sure she got to vote.
My mother worked the absentee vote in their county for 30 years. It is a perfectly legitimate method of voting.
1. You get it done and don't have to worry about it on Nov 2
2. If there is a problem with your registration you know early enough to challenge it.
3. If you are not sure you will be available to go to the poll on Nov. 2 get the absentee ballot turned in!
Most important of all, Make sure you vote and take some one with to vote also.

drive through "McVote" window! I can drop my absentee ballot off at the window at any time prior to or on Nov. 2. They also have a slot to drop it in after hours. There it is, in their hands.

No more, no less. We have people off in Iraq and other corners of the world voting absentee here in my county. I want to make sure their votes are counted accurately, that's why I now work counting votes, and keeping an eye on the other officials.

A few days ago, someone posted about a man who was working for the elections in an area where voter machines are used and totals are uploaded onto palm pilots then brought into a central area, downloaded and tallied. The man told someone he was working for the election crew because he wanted to be the one to bring the palm pilot in to be counted, only he was gonna lose it as he would be working in a minority area.

I doubt very much that he was all that unique. We need to get people in place as poll watchers, election judges, EVERYWHERE votes are handled!

Absentee, hand marked, computer - all the same if the people counting and tallying the votes are operatives for an agenda other than democracy!

THere are supposed to be a Democrat and a reupuk observing the vote.

The whole vote-stealing problem has made me think that is the most important thing we can do. Have to make sure there are people watching vigilantly EVERY STEP OF THE WAY on election day and night.

That palm-pilot story you mention really gave me the chills.

But Palast's comments reallly made me wonder -- who opens the absentee ballots, where, and when.

paper trail. A lot a machines have been found to be faulty. I can't remember the spelling (diabold) or like that.

In my community, we still use paper ballots and my voting station is across the street.

I much prefer to proudly walk in and mark my ballot, then walk it over and stick it into the ballot box. Who the hell knows if the absentee ballots ever get to the counting room???

I guess it might be a better choice than the electronic voting stations??....I don't know...I don't have the problem yet.

I don't understand why we don't have standardized ballots across the nation yet.

Ever since I moved to Washington State. Love it, and it seems that it works fine. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell senators and Brian Baird my rep. All Dems and Murray and Baird both voted against the IWR.

It is safer in my opinion. We tell people we will come over and get it from you just so there is no chance it will get lost in the mail. We deliver them to a good democrat who takes them directly to the state of Iowa.

I sent off for an absentee ballot application, but haven't sent it in yet.

I lived in Texas for 13 years, and always voted early. This is not found for me here in Florida. I must hope that there are more honest than dishonest people in charge of the polls here.VOTE DEMOCRATIC EVERYONE--PLEASE!!!!!

We're actually pushing the vote-by-mail. Our rationale is that even if you plan to go to the polls on Nov. 2, something could come up where you couldn't get to your polling place. With the absentee ballot, you can mail it early or you can even drop it off at ANY polling place on election day. Personally, I still plan to go to my poll that day but you never know what dirty tricks are up their sleeves so I got the absentee ballot just in case.

Down here in Florida, there were stories of boxes of uncounted absentee ballots discovered after the election was over. I'm not sure absentee ballots are going to be any safer than electronic voting.

If the fix is already in, then the only option left is to get as many friendly people working at the polls to report anything suspicious, and to flood the polls with so many new Democratic votes that even if they "lose" 10% of them, we STILL come out ahead.

Absentee Voting is basically the same thing. IMHO it should be encouraged very much. At least Vote By Mail should be encouraged. It increases turn-out considerably and that is what we need desperately. High turn-out. vote by Mail is just so darn convenient. You don't have to worry about voter intimidation or finding a place to park or standing in line or showing ID. It allows you to sit at your kitchen table and really analyze your ballot. Most ballots will have other things on them like bond issues or referendums of one sort or another. You should be able to study the issues and make an intelligent decision with forethought. I am a Very Strong Advocate for Vote By Mail.