Voting mechanics

[magid]

OK, so I've only ever voted in MA, and both municipalities I've voted in use paper ballots. Not anything tricky to understand, just basically scantron things: fill in the bubbles and you're done. Just like all those standardized tests everyone has to take these days, so the voters are prepared, as it were. The thought even of using a lever sort of machine makes me nervous, and computers doubly so, since they're theoretically hackable in even more ways. And there's no paper trail.

Please, someone explain why there isn't more standardization in how ballots are made and processed? OK, and why we don't all use a scantron sort of ballot, since it leaves a paper trail, and isn't tricky to use at all.


Nothing about whether the car-repair guys were involved in the election in this post. Or, there wasn't.

Comments

[ichur72.livejournal.com]

I think here they require ID so that people don't have to bring their voter cards along. They do send out voter cards, but I believe that just serves to confirm your registration and give you the address of your precinct polling place.

[cellio]

I should clarify. I'm not talking about your voter-registration card, which they send in the mail to confirm your registration. Here, when you go to the polls someone pulls a physical card out of a box, asks you to confirm your name and address, and has you sign it. They then file that card; this year I found out that they're filing it for signature verification in the future. (I never knew what happened to the cards before.)

If you go N elections in a row without voting (I don't know what N is), you get dropped from the active list and have to re-register. They use the cards to track that.

[ichur72.livejournal.com]

Ah, OK -- that is quite different. Upon further thought, signature verification is probably part of why they check ID here (and it does seem clear that they prefer a picture ID, though they will accept other things). That is, they compare your signature on the form you sign when you walk in to the one on your ID. Bank statements and utility bills don't usually have signatures, but I guess that's part of why they're towards the bottom of the list of acceptable proof of identification. Also, if you can't produce any of the 17 types of acceptable ID in Georgia, they have you sign a sworn oath and then let you vote.

[magid.livejournal.com]

There are 17 types of acceptable ID in GA? Wow.

Just checked the League of Women Voters in MA site, and the forms of ID that are acceptable (if one were asked, which is apparently up to the determination of the poll-worker, unless one registered by mail since 2003 without proper ID included):

" Suitable identification, which must show your name and address, includes a copy of a current and valid photo identification, current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other government document."

[ichur72.livejournal.com]

This is what I found at the Georgia Secretary of State's web page:

When you arrive at your polling place, you will complete a voter's certificate which asks for your name and residence address. You will then present the certificate and proper identification to the poll officials who will verify that you are a registered voter in that precinct by checking the voters list for that precinct. Voters are required to present identification at their polling place prior to casting their ballot. Proper identification shall consist of any one of the following:

(1) a valid Georgia driver's license;
(2) a valid identification card issued by a branch, department, agency, or entity of the State of Georgia, any other state, or the United States authorized by law to issue personal identification;
(3) a valid United States passport;
(4) a valid employee identification card containing a photograph of the elector and issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the United States government, this state, or any county, municipality, board, authority, or other entity of this state;
(5) a valid employee identification card containing a photograph of the elector and issued by any employer of the elector in the ordinary course of such employer's business;
(6) a valid student identification card containing a photograph of the elector from any public or private college, university, or postgraduate technical or professional school located within the state of Georgia;
(7) a valid Georgia license to carry a pistol or revolver;
(8) a valid pilot's license issued by the Federal Aviation Administration or other authorized agency of the United States;
(9) a valid United States military identification card;
(10) a certified copy of the elector's birth certificate;
(11) a valid social security card;
(12) certified naturalization documentation;
(13) or a certified copy of court records showing adoption, name, or sex change;
(14) A copy of a utility bill;
(15) A bank statement (will be kept confidential);
(16) A government check or payment with name and address; or
(17) A government document that shows the name and address of the elector.
Note: The precinct card you receive to confirm your voter registration and voting location is not a form of identification and is not sufficient identification to vote.

If an elector is unable to produce any of the required identification, the elector shall sign a statement under oath in a form approved by the Secretary of State, separate and distinct from the elector's voter certificate, swearing or affirming that he or she is the person identified on the elector's voter certificate. Such person shall be allowed to vote without undue delay. Falsely swearing or affirming such statement under oath is punishable as a felony.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Wow. A much more comprehensive list than MA.

The only one that strikes me as odd is 10, since showing a baby was born doesn't show that the baby is you.