[sf-lug] Vote early or late? (was Re: SF-LUG Jit.se Meeting)

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Akkana Peck (akkana at shallowsky.com):

> This of course varies by location, but in my NM small town,
> the county clerk has a squad of volunteers checking outer envelopes
> as they come in, and if there's anything wrong that might prevent the
> ballot from being counted, they're making every effort to contact
> the voter and get it corrected before election day. Large CA
> counties may not be able to do that, but if there's any possibility
> that your county or precinct is doing this, voting early helps to
> guard against making a procedural mistake like forgetting to sign
> your middle initial.

I've found it difficult to give advice to voters (on my election
analysis page) for _this_ election -- specifically, about how to make
sure you both vote safely and maximise the chances of your ballot being
accepted and counted as early as possible -- because conditions differ
so widely from state to state.

There are some wildly bizarre problems, this time.  E.g., in two states
(one of which is Pennsylvania, and I can't remember the other one), the
state GOP went to court to (successfully) block the election officials
from starting processing of received ballots _now_ before Election Day.
So, in those two states, even if you get a ballot in early, it still may
end up in the chaotic mess that is very likely to consume the nation for
a week or more following Nov. 3rd.

In states where you can safely bring a ballot directly to election
officials -- e.g., I maintain that California's Voting Centers and
county election offices are going to be at least as safe as a grocery
store, if not more so -- I expect the voter has the advantage of getting
your ballot & envelope at least lightly checked by poll workers, who can
verify that your signature is in the right place and you've avoided 
most of the basic mistakes that are getting ballots disqualified.

This is part of why I and my family are taking our ballots directly to
the county elections office, and definitely _not_ mailing our completed
ballots.  

Of course, in some states, there has been a deliberate effort to ensure
that voters cannot do that, etc., one of the crazy-quilt of pitfalls
across 50 states plus DC.