Vote-by-mail experiment reveals potential problems within postal voting system

[Counselor706]

Many Americans are expected to vote by mail for the first time in November 2020 because of coronavirus concerns, so "CBS This Morning" sent out 100 mock ballots, simulating 100 voters in locations across Philadelphia, in an experiment to see how long one should give themselves to make sure their vote counts.

Out of the initial batch mailed a week earlier, 97 out of 100 votes had arrived. Three simulated persons, or 3% of voters, were effectively disenfranchised by mail by giving their ballots a week to arrive. In a close election, 3% could be pivotal.

Four days after mailing the second batch of mock ballots, 21% of the votes hadn't arrived.

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[phrodeau]

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Any uncollected votes would most likely break between the parties at the same proportion as the collected votes.

 

[Adre]

Oregon has mail-only voting and with 100,000,000 cast in all these years can only identify 12 fraudulent votes. Get over it.

 

[Counselor706]

28 million mail-in ballots went missing in last four elections

Between 2012 and 2018, 28.3 million mail-in ballots remain unaccounted for, according to data from the federal Election Assistance Commission. The missing ballots amount to nearly one in five of all absentee ballots and ballots mailed to voters residing in states that do elections exclusively by mail.

Despite these concerns, five states – Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Utah, and Hawaii – now do all elections exclusively by mail. Supporters point to smooth elections in these states as proof that it works. But PILF obtained voter data from Oregon, the first state to adopt voting by mail exclusively, for the 2012 and 2018 elections and checked it against census data. Of the 7 million ballots the state sent out in those two elections, some 871,000 ballots are totally unaccounted for.

Losing only one of eight ballots, as opposed to the national average of one in five, may be the result of Oregon having a more accurate listing of voters’ addresses than many other states, but that’s still a very high percentage of missing ballots, and Oregon would not reveal its data for the 2014 and 2016 elections for reasons the state would not disclose.

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[phrodeau]

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Yes, it’s all the dead people who got ballots and didn’t return them.

 

[domroger]

Seems like the right want to disenfranchise the military .

 

[oddity83]

Oregon has mail-only voting and with 100,000,000 cast in all these years can only identify 12 fraudulent votes. Get over it.

Vote by mail the best thing about Oregon politics.

 

[Tigersman]

This problem does not surprise me since Trump ordered the head of the Postal service to cut back overtime and shut down sorting machines by a certain time each day. He is trying his best to do anything to help his reelection chances. He is living in his own fantasy land.

 

[bobb_sledd]

Oregon has mail-only voting and with 100,000,000 cast in all these years can only identify 12 fraudulent votes. Get over it.

How long did it take for Oregon to establish a secure vote-by-mail program? Isn't the system more akin to absentee voting in other states where the application process included a mechanism for verifying signatures on the submitted ballots?

It's not vote by mail that concerns me. It's the doubt that a secure system can be put in place nationwide that would ensure all votes are counted accurately and on time.

 

[phrodeau]

How long did it take for Oregon to establish a secure vote-by-mail program? Isn't the system more akin to absentee voting in other states where the application process included a mechanism for verifying signatures on the submitted ballots?

It's not vote by mail that concerns me. It's the doubt that a secure system can be put in place nationwide that would ensure all votes are counted accurately and on time.

On time for what? They’ve got two months.

 

[FescueFan]

Oregon has mail-only voting and with 100,000,000 cast in all these years can only identify 12 fraudulent votes. Get over it.

And look at how well that's worked out for Oregon LOL

 

[icanhelp1]

This problem does not surprise me since Trump ordered the head of the Postal service to cut back overtime and shut down sorting machines by a certain time each day. He is trying his best to do anything to help his reelection chances. He is living in his own fantasy land.

Well if what you say is true and that mail in voting gives neither party an advantage then why is the left wetting their panties. Mail in voting would take weeks to months to tally up the votes. That is an apparent attempt by the left to sabotage voting *period*.

 

[bobb_sledd]

On time for what? They’ve got two months.

If a count could even be accurately done within two months using systems lashed together in the next 90-days.

What's more important is that whatever system is used is able to ensure the ballots sent out reach only the voters, and that returned ballots are only submitted by registered, eligible, voters. My father has been dead for ten years, his name is still on the voter roles...no matter how many times we've tried to have it removed. I know of others where the same is true.

A national election, especially one as important as this, needs to ensure the validity of the individual vote. If for no other reason then to eliminate either side from claiming they were robbed.