|
Post by peano on Aug 4, 2020 0:54:34 GMT
If there was mass mail in voting and Trump won would you believe that it was fair? Edited to add: I can't get my regular mail delivered correctly on a daily basis and there is at least one thread here that everyone is advising that there are massive delays in US mail delivery because of COVID and other problems with the post office. I'm not afraid of mail in voting but the USPS is incompetent and ineffective and there is no way I trust them to do the job. Here are all the Trump family members and associates who have voted by mail: link Donald Trump and Melania Trump Mike Pence Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner Kayleigh McEnany Bill Barr Betsy DeVos Larry Kudlow Wilbur Ross Brad Parscale RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel I guess they all thought the Postal Service was effective enough. My service through the USPS has always been competent and easy so blanket statements like yours are bullshit, not only because blanket statements in general are bullshit, but they are also the true sign of a lazy mind and those who don't care about the truth. The massive delays may have initially been caused by COVID and may still to a lesser degree, but now increasingly are being caused by a change in the Postal Service leadership appointed by Trump and new policies by that person. linkIf you are paranoid about postal delivery about mail-in ballots, I believe typically there are drive up boxes near polling places in which you can place your ballot with your own hands.
|
|
|
Post by Merge on Aug 4, 2020 1:08:20 GMT
I think, anecdotal complaints to the contrary, that the vast majority of mail gets where it is supposed to go. Millions of people mail in absentee ballots each election and no one seems concerned about the validity of those elections, even when they are close.
Frankly, I don't think that mail-in ballots are any more or less fraught with problems than voting machines that issue no paper receipt or tangible evidence that your vote was counted in any way - as is true here in Texas.
I think states should relax the rules to allow anyone to request an absentee ballot who wants one, and run normal in-person elections for those who want that. The structures that purport to guarantee the results of each are already in place, so there shouldn't be a big scramble. That way everyone can vote in the way that they feel most comfortable with, and there shouldn't be any complaint about the results.
|
|
|
Post by tentoes on Aug 4, 2020 1:25:48 GMT
The mail delivery at my house is atrocious. I belong to the USPS informed delivery service, and at least 4 times a week things are posted in that email that I don't receive. Two things that didn't get here were checks that totaled over 3,000. I had to contact the source, stop payment on the checks, have them reissued, and then one of them didn't get here again. So no, I don't have much faith in mail in votes. (this all happened this past month. This is by design, do you realize he’s doing this intentionally? Trump and the new Post Office General are sabotaging the USPS. I don't agree. Our problems with the mail delivery here didn't start with Trump. It's been going on for years.
|
|
|
Post by Crack-a-lackin on Aug 4, 2020 1:33:17 GMT
I get it. I hate the USPS with the fire of a thousand burning suns. I’ve had issues and know how impossible it is to fix. But, I trust our WA state mail in voting. Maybe it’s because I generally use the ballot box, or because we’ve done it for years and it seems to work. I think it’s a better solution than what we have in this country now, but I do think if mail-in becomes a thing in all states they need it to be postage paid. The first many years we did it we had to pay postage or use a ballot box and that’s unfair to low income.
|
|
pinklady
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,513
Nov 14, 2016 23:47:03 GMT
|
Post by pinklady on Aug 4, 2020 2:26:42 GMT
The mail delivery at my house is atrocious. I belong to the USPS informed delivery service, and at least 4 times a week things are posted in that email that I don't receive. Two things that didn't get here were checks that totaled over 3,000. I had to contact the source, stop payment on the checks, have them reissued, and then one of them didn't get here again. So no, I don't have much faith in mail in votes. (this all happened this past month. This is by design, do you realize he’s doing this intentionally? Trump and the new Post Office General are sabotaging the USPS. I’ve lived in my house 40 years and it’s always sucked. My neighbors say the same things so it’s not just my house. My complaints started long before Trump. Post office workers In my city are just morons.
|
|
|
Post by aj2hall on Aug 4, 2020 2:36:45 GMT
I’m sorry for those of you with bad mail service. I do think, however, that those are exceptions and isolated incidents. Perhaps your mail carrier is not doing their job well? But, that doesn’t mean that the entire system is bad. They deliver to lots of remote, rural areas accessible only by plane or boat. For voters who trust the USPS, mail in voting should be an option with drop boxes for the ballots. Lots of states have been doing all mail in votes for years with few problems. And all states have absentee ballots that are delivered by mail.
|
|
|
Post by 950nancy on Aug 4, 2020 2:43:00 GMT
If there was mass mail in voting and Trump won would you believe that it was fair? Edited to add: I can't get my regular mail delivered correctly on a daily basis and there is at least one thread here that everyone is advising that there are massive delays in US mail delivery because of COVID and other problems with the post office. I'm not afraid of mail in voting but the USPS is incompetent and ineffective and there is no way I trust them to do the job. We've used mail in voting for years in my state. I haven't ever had a problem. I can mail it back or drop it in a secured drop box. I can also see my previous years of voting (kept online) to make sure that my vote counted. It is not hard to accomplish.
|
|
twinsmomfla99
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,978
Jun 26, 2014 13:42:47 GMT
|
Post by twinsmomfla99 on Aug 4, 2020 2:43:29 GMT
Ari Berman.... ”FACTS about voting: 1. Trump can't ban mail voting through executive order. States run elections 2. "Absentee" & "mail-in" voting are same thing 3. Only 143 criminal convictions for mail ballot fraud over 20 years (.00006% total votes) 4. 16 top Trump officials voted by mail” Absentee and mail in are not the same thing. States that do not have mail in still offer absentee. In my state, vote by mail is absentee voting, and that is what many states plan to do. WV expanded absentee voting for the primary the spring so people would not have to go to the polls. An application to request an absentee ballot was mailed to every registered voter, and you could only vote by mail if you sent your request by the deadline. I just don't understand why that scares Republicans so badly.
|
|
|
Post by chlerbie on Aug 4, 2020 2:46:22 GMT
I run a home business where I send out an average of 20-30 packages a day, six days a week, using the USPS. I have VERY few issues with items arriving.
|
|
lindas
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,151
Jun 26, 2014 5:46:37 GMT
|
Post by lindas on Aug 4, 2020 2:53:33 GMT
Don’t be surprised if we don’t know the results of this election until mid December. It’s been 6 weeks since New York held their primary and there are still 2 races that haven’t been determined, they’re still counting votes. Nationwide 65,000 mail in ballots have been rejected due to late arrival link. My letter from the state asking if I wanted a mail in ballot went right to the shredder. I’ll be voting in person because the odds of having my vote counted are a hell of a lot better.
|
|
|
Post by bc2ca on Aug 4, 2020 2:55:11 GMT
Every state that has the vote by mail option also has the option to drop off completed ballots (election office, designated drop-off boxes or stations, polling station) so you can absolutely bypass trusting the USPS to get the job done if that's your objection to mail-in ballots.
So many are doing this already. It isn't that hard for other states to join in and make things easy for citizens to vote.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
May 1, 2024 21:39:57 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2020 3:27:12 GMT
The mail delivery at my house is atrocious. I belong to the USPS informed delivery service, and at least 4 times a week things are posted in that email that I don't receive. Two things that didn't get here were checks that totaled over 3,000. I had to contact the source, stop payment on the checks, have them reissued, and then one of them didn't get here again. So no, I don't have much faith in mail in votes. (this all happened this past month. This is by design, do you realize he’s doing this intentionally? Trump and the new Post Office General are sabotaging the USPS. Oh for fucks sake. We have had mail issues long before this and long before Trump was even President.
|
|
sassyangel
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,456
Jun 26, 2014 23:58:32 GMT
|
Post by sassyangel on Aug 4, 2020 4:00:58 GMT
This is by design, do you realize he’s doing this intentionally? Trump and the new Post Office General are sabotaging the USPS. Oh for fucks sake. We have had mail issues long before this and long before Trump was even President. Which they’re now exacerbating. No overtime (during a time when people are relying on the mail more than ever). If all the mail for delivery isn’t delivered in regular delivery time, it gets held back. Stopping machine sorting, relying on hand sorting. 🤷🏻♀️
|
|
|
Post by aj2hall on Aug 4, 2020 4:04:26 GMT
PBS News Hour had a story tonight on mail in ballots. As a result of the new postmaster general, there have been slowdowns and service has decreased over the last 6 weeks. Also, an interesting point, mail carriers are on the front lines but the post office has not received any help from the stimulus. In addition, in Utah, mail in voting has led to more informed voting. Voters receive the ballots in advance and can do research on local races or ordinances instead of spur of the moment decisions for in person voting. Signatures are checked on submitted ballots and there has been very little fraud. Sorry, but in my opinion, Trump’s attempts to undermine the post office and claiming mail in ballots are fraudulent are a thinly veiled attempt at voter suppression.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
May 1, 2024 21:39:57 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2020 17:44:16 GMT
Why this and why now?
trump this morning...
”Whether you call it Vote by Mail or Absentee Voting, in Florida the election system is Safe and Secure, Tried and True. Florida’s Voting system has been cleaned up (we defeated Democrats attempts at change), so in Florida I encourage all to request a Ballot & Vote by Mail! #MAGA”
Chris Hayes....
”Allow me to translate: someone told him that he's scaring his elderly supporters in Florida away from vote-by-mail and it's gonna hurt him so hence this.”
Yamiche Alcindor .....
”Asked about this tweet, @presssec doesn't give a clear answer on why President Trump is now suddenly embracing mail in voting in Florida, a key battleground state.
Note: Trump has been attacking mail in voting and claiming, without evidence, that it is full of fraud.”
|
|
|
Post by slowrunner70 on Aug 4, 2020 18:22:14 GMT
Oh for fucks sake. We have had mail issues long before this and long before Trump was even President. Which they’re now exacerbating. No overtime (during a time when people are relying on the mail more than ever). If all the mail for delivery isn’t delivered in regular delivery time, it gets held back. Stopping machine sorting, relying on hand sorting. 🤷🏻♀️ According to my friend, who has been working for the USPS for well over 30 years, it is true that they are about a week behind, but what you wrote about the machine sorting is absolutely 100% false.
|
|
|
Post by Scrapper100 on Aug 4, 2020 18:29:22 GMT
For those that do mail in here you can hand deliver to a polling place and you don’t have to stand in line well pre-Covid just walk-in and out in the box. I’m sure they can come up with a safe way to do this. You just need to get the mail in ballot which usually comes a month before the election. If they don’t do mail in I’m hoping they can open up early voting. Expand early voting as it wasn’t convenient in past elections.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
May 1, 2024 21:39:57 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2020 20:18:56 GMT
From the LA Times Editorial Board
”Attacking the U.S. Postal Service before an election is something a terrorist would do”
“To hobble the U.S. Postal Service under the guise of “treating it like a business” is to undermine public confidence in yet another vital American institution at exactly the time when confidence is most needed, as much of the nation prepares to vote by mail in the Nov. 3 election. Such an attack would be an obvious strategy of a terrorist group or a foreign adversary. It also appears to be the strategy of the president of the United States.
President Trump has long railed against the Postal Service as a money-losing operation, and it’s quite true: Public mail delivery isn’t a profit-making business. Nor should it be. It’s a government service that should no more be expected to produce profits than, say, the Food and Drug Administration. Trump also reportedly dislikes the Postal Service because it delivers packages for Amazon, which is owned by Jeff Bezos, who also owns the Washington Post, which is critical of Trump in its coverage. That may be a stretch, or it may be right on the money; Trump has indeed criticized the Postal Service for charging Amazon rates that he says are too low.
Of more concern, though, is Trump’s constant harangue against voting by mail, which he says — without evidence — is a hotbed of fraud. Many states plan to conduct their balloting by mail, so making sure the Postal Service has a hard time delivering election-related material in a timely fashion — or even appearing to do so — gives him ammunition to attack the validity of election results that don’t go his way.
In June, the all-Trump-appointed U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors selected major Republican Party fundraiser Louis DeJoy to lead the agency as postmaster general. In the weeks since, DeJoy has put in place cost-cutting policies that he says are meant to stem financial losses, but that Democrats and other critics say may result in post office closures and slower and less reliable delivery service just as the election approaches.
The infatuation with running government services like businesses (and running them into the ground) long precedes the Trump presidency. But the Postal Service is not Amtrak, another favorite target for bean-counters. It predates the nation’s independence and is recognized by the Constitution. It’s a publicly held resource that serves every American and binds the nation together.
No wonder Trump dislikes it.
This country is already suffering from a series of self-inflicted wounds, the most obvious of which is its inept handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. What it needs now is a shot of confidence in its most basic process, voting, to shore up the integrity of its most basic value, democracy. That coincides with the nation’s interest in keeping the Postal Service intact and its service reliable. Unfortunately it does not coincide with the interests of the nation’s adversaries. Or its current president.”
There is this misconception by many that everything must run perfectly. Why some think this I have no idea since we as humans certainly aren’t perfect as we prove it every single day.
Which means just like everything else in life the Post Office isn’t perfect and has their problems. But in spite of their problems they do a pretty good job in the majority of the country. Yes I’ve had my issues with the post office. For some reason some of my packages from Simon Says Stamps get the scenic view of the San Francisco Bay Area before landing on my doorstep. But still when you think about the amount of mail and packages they more about the country it’s kind of impressive.
As noted above the Post Office was not originated to make a profit but to ensure all Americans were able to receive & send their mail and packages at reasonable rates.
And because of this from time to time they have needed help from the Federal Government.
Unfortunately we currently have a vindictive scared little man sitting in The White House who sees a way to kill two birds with one stone by sabotaging the Post Office. He thinks he can stick it to Amazon and Jeff Bezos as well as a potential way of making sure he is re-elected by torpedoing the mail in ballot surge by making the delivery of mail unreliable for all. And he doesn’t give a damn about the collateral damage he causes as long as he “gets” Bezos and forces people to risk their health to vote in person.
And if you are wondering why trump is against mail in voting, with ,I guess, the exception of Florida? Because he believes if people vote by mail more people will vote and if more people vote the Republicans can’t win elections.
If people chose to vote in person, fine. But people should also have the option of voting by mail as well.
|
|
|
Post by crimsoncat05 on Aug 4, 2020 22:29:25 GMT
There is this misconception by many that everything must run perfectly. Why some think this I have no idea since we as humans certainly aren’t perfect as we prove it every single day. Which means just like everything else in life the Post Office isn’t perfect and has their problems. But in spite of their problems they do a pretty good job in the majority of the country. Yes I’ve had my issues with the post office. For some reason some of my packages from Simon Says Stamps get the scenic view of the San Francisco Bay Area before landing on my doorstep. But still when you think about the amount of mail and packages they more about the country it’s kind of impressive. As noted above the Post Office was not originated to make a profit but to ensure all Americans were able to receive & send their mail and packages at reasonable rates. yup. I think US mail is pretty cheap, too, compared to other countries' postage rates. not certain about that one, though. But when you think about how we can send something ANYWHERE in the COUNTRY for as little as 50 cents, and it can get where you want it to in about week or less?? (or whatever it costs right now) That is really amazing.
|
|