Florida Already Has Election Controversy

[Guest MikeSC]

Early voting has started in FL.

 

One unfortunate problem is that a Kerry/Edwards/DNC manual is advocating the campaign collect completed ballots and return them to Early Vote locations. Their plan is not drastically different than, say, voter registration drives. Collect a whole bunch of them and submit them to the state.

 

One small problem is that this is actually illegal, according to FL state law, which states:

A designee may pick up an absentee ballot for a voter on election day or 4 days before election day. A designee may only pick up two absentee ballots per election, other than his or her own ballot or ballots for members of his or her immediate family. Designees must have written authorization from the voter, present a picture I.D. and sign an affidavit. Candidates may pick up absentee ballots only for members of their immediate family.

http://election.dos.state.fl.us/absenteevoting.shtml

 

So, unfortunately, if the Democratic Party goes ahead with the plan --- there is zero evidence that they have done it yet, just that they plan on doing it --- will lead to legal challenges which will only make all of this ugly.

 

Again.

-=Mike

[Vyce 0]

Jesus Christ.

 

At this point, I'm beginning to think that the only fair way for this election to be decided is for someone to flip a coin and have them call it in the air.

[CBright7831 0]

That's probably what they should done to decide the last election.

 

Kerry: HEADS! NO TAILS! NAH HEADS! YUP! NO TAILS!

Bush: SIDES!

[Tawren 0]

"We meant to call tails, dammit! Recount!"

[2GOLD 0]

We of the Democratic Party DEMAND best two out of three!

...Alright, best three out of five!

...Alright, five out of seven.

...Oh come on!

[Guest INXS]

Bush has a rigged coin - heads on both sides.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

*shakes head*

 

You know the difference between you and me, INXS?

 

 

 

 

I make my idiotic posts look good...

[Guest SideFXs]

I am hoping INXS is between the ages of 18 and 26. And if Bush wins...

 

 

 

And lets not forget the DNC manual is also telling voters to start shouting voter intimidation, starting now, Mike.

[Guest MikeSC]

I am hoping INXS is between the ages of 18 and 26. And if Bush wins...

 

 

 

And lets not forget the DNC manual is also telling voters to start shouting voter intimidation, starting now, Mike.

You know what's weird? INXS blames the "mentally ill" on Bush.

-=Mike

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

INXS is from England, so you don't have to worry about him voting Kerry.

 

Now the 40-50+ million American idiots that probably will are another story...

[Guest MikeSC]

INXS is from England, so you don't have to worry about him voting Kerry.

 

Now the 40-50+ million American idiots that probably will are another story...

Care to bet on him being one of the idiots annoying the voters in OH?

-=Mike

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Ha. Thanks for bringing that story up.

 

I say no. I doubt he can properly mail a letter overseas...

[Guest Crazy Dan]

Man, just as Dave Berry wrote about how he was upset that California had wrestled the "Dumbest-Voters" title from the Florida, due to the fact we actually elected Ahnold (whom, I will admit, has done a good job so far), this potential mess has Florida back on the inside track to reclaim the title again. Man, you would think that 2000 would have at least brought about some decent voting reforms to avoid controversy so that we might not have to rely on a Supreme Court Ruling and have legit results in your voting. I guess that four hurricanes is not enough reasons to be in the news for the wrong reason, they want another uplifting story of how their voting system is incompetant, has voting fraud, uncounted votes, and every other story which will once again make the 2004 election fun to watch in Florida. Don't get me wrong, being the "Dumbest Voters" in the USA has grown on me. However, I am in awe that the title might go to another state or the ex-champ.

 

Seriously, I am sure there are some good voting systems that can be the model for states to use. But the reforms I read about deal with electronic voting which leaves no paper trail, can anyone say "computer virus?", registration forms being allegedly discarded due to the person having the nerve to vote the other party, and now this great idea to begin the voting two weeks early and have those votes just screaming to be controversial. This is not a good direction to be going in. I am not sure what the solution is here, but I am sure that they will not help the problem any and as a result, controversy will continue to bog down one, out of the many, things that make living in the USA great. The right to vote and then bitch when the candidate or ballot initiative you voted for does not get the votes.

 

But disenfranchising the voters on both sides is not good for the country and might be a reason for the division gap that continues to split the country. Just the thought over another potential election day mess and both parties whining about voting fraud is one way to make our system look real bad. The last thing Bush or Kerry needs is election fraud to cloud a victory. Bush won Florida under controversy, whether it was fair/unfair is moot, but a result was that the USA became more divided. The 2000 election made many people angry and that anger turned to hatred of Bush. Regardless of who is in office, being blinded by hate can only keep someone narrow-minded. The winner of the election needs to win with the minimal controversy. Especially in states like Florida and Ohio that hold many valuable electorial votes and will help decide the winner. These are two states that, coincidently, are expected to have the most problems with the voting. I am a Democrat, but if a Republican Candidate wins then I will accept it as the will of the majority. I might not like that Bush wins, but I can live with the decision as long as the win is clean. Voting controversy means that the right to vote for some was denied and I do have a problem if this is the case. Everyone, who meets the criteria for elgibility, has the right to chose the candidate/party of their choice. To lose this right, hurts the fabric of this country. When this right is denied due to poor voting methods or other reasons, like Florida has shown, this will only bring about more division and anger. People already believe their vote means nothing and they might be right, but to give people concrete proof that their vote really does not count, will only disenfranchise voters even more.

[Guest Vitamin X]

I know Florida is already fucking up the election by this fact alone.

 

I don't always use my full legal name (since I usually sign "Leo" instead of "Leonardo"), and at my college there's been a ton of those voter registration drives.. On one of those, they asked me to do a signature update, since I was already registered, and lo and behold I got issued a SECOND voter registeration card.

 

So now I have one voter ID card that says "Leo" and another that says "Leonardo" with two completely different registration numbers... meaning technically I can go into two different polling places with the different cards and vote twice.

[Guest MikeSC]

I know Florida is already fucking up the election by this fact alone.

 

I don't always use my full legal name (since I usually sign "Leo" instead of "Leonardo"), and at my college there's been a ton of those voter registration drives.. On one of those, they asked me to do a signature update, since I was already registered, and lo and behold I got issued a SECOND voter registeration card.

 

So now I have one voter ID card that says "Leo" and another that says "Leonardo" with two completely different registration numbers... meaning technically I can go into two different polling places with the different cards and vote twice.

And, yet, them purging their lists is viewed as racist.

 

The gov't needs to get voter registration under control. Like Dr. Tom said, a simple database for this info MUST be set up immediately.

-=Mike

[Styles 0]

Crazy Dan, have you ever posted something less than a few lines before? Just curious, because either you're just really well thought out and opinionated every time, or you're the most subtle gimmick poster ever....

[Guest Crazy Dan]

Crazy Dan, have you ever posted something less than a few lines before? Just curious, because either you're just really well thought out and opinionated every time, or you're the most subtle gimmick poster ever....

A little from column A and a little from column B . Really depends on the mood or subject. I don't post as much as some do, so when I do I try to make it count. Normally I discover that I am usually the last one to say something on a topic before the topic leaves the page. But I am glad some of you are reading what I write, even when it is super long.

[CheesalaIsGood 0]

Oh boy is THIS gonna get ugly. I can't wait.

[Hogan Made Wrestling 0]

Honestly, while I support Kerry, I'd rather see Bush win Florida by 10000 than have Kerry win it by 500. I bet there are already lawyers on both sides drafting complaints to contest the results in swing states.