Republicans reconsider ballot harvesting and early voting amid midterm losses

[mystery-ak]

Republicans reconsider ballot harvesting and early voting amid midterm losses
by Sarah Westwood, Investigative Reporter |
November 20, 2022 05:00 AM

After Democrats defied historical trends and political expectations in the midterm elections, some Republicans are reconsidering their party’s resistance to ballot harvesting, voting by mail, and extensive early voting periods.

The GOP has fought in several states to roll back changes to election law that became widespread during the pandemic, such as unlimited voting by mail and the proliferation of ballot drop boxes. Republicans have rejected ballot harvesting in particular as a threat to election integrity.

Ballot harvesting refers to a practice in which a third party collects ballots from voters in bulk and delivers them to a drop box or polling location.

Proponents of the practice say it increases election access for people who may struggle to submit their ballots themselves, such as elderly patients in nursing homes.

Opponents have argued it opens the door to abuses large and small, from the submission of potentially fraudulent ballots to the subtle forms of social pressure that might arise from having a friend or community leader oversee the completion of multiple ballots.

Thirty-one states specifically allow a person other than the voter who filled out the ballot to return it, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/republicans-reconsider-ballot-harvesting-early-voting-midterm-losses

[Fishrrman]

My thoughts, posted a couple of days' back:
https://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,485120.msg2742402.html#msg2742402

[Smokin Joe]

Close the opportunities for fraud off. It still won't stop it all, but at least give it a decent try.

Out Democrating Democrats is not the way to win.

[roamer_1]

Close the opportunities for fraud off. It still won't stop it all, but at least give it a decent try.

Out Democrating Democrats is not the way to win.

That's right.

[Hoodat]

Republicans can't out-Democrat Democrats.  It's not in their nature.

[Smokin Joe]

Republicans can't out-Democrat Democrats.  It's not in their nature.

The Democrats have had decades of practice, the GOP are amateurs at the Democrats' brand of cheating. Not only will they not best them at it, they will not invent much new and the Democrats already know all those tricks, so they'd just expose the fledgling attempts to pull off what the Dems have become quite good at.

It's a losing gambit.

Get back to doing elections on the straight and narrow as much as possible.

[Kamaji]

Close the opportunities for fraud off. It still won't stop it all, but at least give it a decent try.

Out Democrating Democrats is not the way to win.

Totally disagree. 

[Kamaji]

Ahh yes.  The cold comfort of sterile moralization. 

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Isn't there a clause in the Constitution that says that each state is a republic... and wouldn't this violate it?

[Kamaji]

Isn't there a clause in the Constitution that says that each state is a republic... and wouldn't this violate it?

Why?

[christian]

As long as people accept there being no need to fix election corruption after an election, this crap will go on forever.The cure needs to follow closely on the heels of an election ending.  The stupids want to pretend  corruption will magically vanish if ignored with time, it will vanish.  Denial by the wicked is far more powerful than many suspect.
 

[Cyber Liberty]

Fighting cheating with more cheating is not the answer.  It's how we'll get to a Billion votes for 450 Million voters.

[Free Vulcan]

Until there is security, chain-of-custody, and transparency in the vote counting, it doesn't matter where the votes are coming from if they are counted in the dark and away from prying eyes.

That said, the first thing that needs to go is drop boxes. If you are going to do mail-in ballots, then everything should have a postmark.

[Bigun]

Until there is security, chain-of-custody, and transparency in the vote counting, it doesn't matter where the votes are coming from if they are counted in the dark and away from prying eyes.

That said, the first thing that needs to go is drop boxes. If you are going to do mail-in ballots, then everything should have a postmark.

Republicans focus on votes. Democrats focus on ballots.  See the problem?

[cato potatoe]

Folks, it isn’t cheating if it’s legal.  Either the republican party will use similar methods or they will lose every competitive race.  Donald said you would be sick of winning, and maybe he was right.

[Bigun]

Folks, it isn’t cheating if it’s legal.  Either the republican party will use similar methods or they will lose every competitive race.  Donald said you would be sick of winning, and maybe he was right.

But it isn't LEGAL unless the state legislatures made it so.

[roamer_1]

Folks, it isn’t cheating if it’s legal.  Either the republican party will use similar methods or they will lose every competitive race.  Donald said you would be sick of winning, and maybe he was right.

You will never win ANYWAY, unless you are willing to cheat. The whole reason for extending voting to mail and extended days is to turn Democrat ballot stuffing into an industry.

The reason voting is to be all at once is precisely to limit the amount of ballot stuffing possible. Now they can not only front-load the game with mail in, but they can also see the tallies on voting day and know how many they need to produce on the backside, not only by found ballots, but after-voting mail.

IOW, they can produce whatever they need outside of legitimate votes, and have the time to do it.

Chasing this bullcrap is a lose/lose proposition.

[cato potatoe]

You will never win ANYWAY, unless you are willing to cheat. The whole reason for extending voting to mail and extended days is to turn Democrat ballot stuffing into an industry.

The reason voting is to be all at once is precisely to limit the amount of ballot stuffing possible. Now they can not only front-load the game with mail in, but they can also see the tallies on voting day and know how many they need to produce on the backside, not only by found ballots, but after-voting mail.

But there is no way in hell this country will return to election day voting for 160 million people.  We saw how that worked in Arizona.  Either the party learns to exploit every provision (Florida, Georgia, California GOP) under existing law or they will always be on the outside looking in. 

[roamer_1]

But there is no way in hell this country will return to election day voting for 160 million people.  We saw how that worked in Arizona.  Either the party learns to exploit every provision (Florida, Georgia, California GOP) under existing law or they will always be on the outside looking in.

Then you will lose. Unless you are willing to cheat too. I am not.

[berdie]

If they cheat and we cheat....what's the point of voting?

[DB]

When truth no longer matters than it becomes a contest on who's the best liar. Everyone loses no matter who "wins".

[roamer_1]

When truth no longer matters than it becomes a contest on who's the best liar. Everyone loses no matter who "wins".

And when the ballot box is lost, there is but one box left to stand upon.

[cato potatoe]

Then you will lose. Unless you are willing to cheat too. I am not.

It isn’t cheating if it is legal.  If you want to restrict the early voting period, get someone elected under the rules that are in place.  Most of the complaints sound like sore loserism after nominating trumpy TV doctor quacks and brain damaged athletes.  Kari Lake can yell at reporters, but can she organize a campaign?

[roamer_1]

It isn’t cheating if it is legal.  If you want to restrict the early voting period, get someone elected under the rules that are in place.  Most of the complaints sound like sore loserism after nominating trumpy TV doctor quacks and brain damaged athletes.  Kari Lake can yell at reporters, but can she organize a campaign?

Understand me: It doesn't matter what's legal.

The expanded *legal* field allows unfettered, exponential, made-to-order, illegal, ballot stuffing. You can play whatever strategy games you like. If you are not willing to illegally cheat stuffing ballots, you will not win. End of story.

[andy58-in-nh]

Republicans focus on votes. Democrats focus on ballots.  See the problem?

We are being played for suckers by people who do not care about ANYTHING other than power, money and winning control.

I would love to go back to the old and fair notions of civil discourse and electoral integrity.

But first, we need to defeat the crooks are running multiple scams while we impotently protest their lack of honesty to equally-corrupt "leaders" who could not care less.

What happened when a card game in the old West was found out to be dishonest? Yeah. And it worked. 

No need for guns. Yet. But we need to stand up and challenge the con men, one way or another.