It might not be a bad idea to use a ballot drop box, rather than a mailbox. Oregon has had mail-in ballots for years, but in 2024, we hand-delivered ours to an election worker, rather than take any chances.
I posted this way back in October when they were tear-gassing the guy in the frog costume, but it's relevant again, or still.
I have the utmost respect for the peaceful protestors in Minneapolis, Portland, and elsewhere.
What I take issue with is the argument that being anything BUT peaceful, meek, and conciliatory "will give them the excuse they're looking for to cancel the midterms".
They're de facto cancelling the midterms right now, in front of Congress and everybody.
They will probably try to de jure cancel them with some kind of tweet or imperial proclamation, or some such goddamn nonsense.
If they can't do that, they will simply refuse to certify any result they don't like. Mike Pence may have been a putz, but he's fuckin' Gandhi compared to the traitors and ass-lickers in every office now.
We could physically kneel before them from now until November, and as with Martha's Vineyard, they will simply pretend that the opposite happened.
There might possibly be a spectrum of discussion of exactly what protestors should do and how they should do it.
Godd dammit I'm going to vote if I have to stand in line for 3 days to get my ballot, and drop it in a drop box.
Spokane Wa has ballot drop boxes all over the damn place. Been here since 2004, only one time did I mail my ballot (after we switched ot vite by mail only).
After that first time, I had an interesting chat with our mail carrier, and he asked us if we had moved here from CaliFORnia. I said yeah, and my wife was originially from Spokane, so we are just moving home for her.
He said "yeah, ok, thats good, it's all the ho--mo--SEXuals moving up from Ca--li--FORnia that are ruinng everything."
I didnt trust him to not just toss my ballot in the trash after that, and I've used a drop box ever since.
Not to put to fine a point on it, but the Postal Service is under the authority of the Congress (Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution) and not under the Executive. As such, Executive Orders have no authority over the USPS.
But the current Postmaster General is a craven coward and will do anything that the Fat Orange Pustule tells him to do.
And I thought Louis DeJoy was a POS. Boy, was I wrong.
Ok, let's look at (hopefully) practical solutions. Assume mail-in voting is screwed in your state, or that there is a good chance it will get screwed up. I'm not sure we can trust drop boxes.
One caveat first - make sure what you are trying to do doesn't run afoul of local and state laws.
We need to move as many people as possible to early voting in person. This is to avoid tampering with drop boxes and intentional screwups with US mail as they're trying to set up.
1) Reach out to all the area nursing homes, assisted living and independent living facilities in your area. They almost all have a bus/van Ask if they have plans to take residents to early polling locations. If not, ask them to do so and let you know within a week. Just replace one of the regular weekly excursions to Walmart, etc. If they say they can't do it, Ask if you can post a flyer with pull off tabs clearly stating your availability to give people rides to early vote. (If you are in a position to do so.) Ask if they can help them verify they are registered to vote buy Oct. 1st.
Ask on Facebook and Nextdoor if anyone needs assistance either registering, verifying registration or knows of someone who does. Encourage others to make themselves available. Auggest they can make a request on the platform.
Your state, county and city probably have programs to assist home-bound people and the elderly. Find out if they are doing anything and if you can help
Any other suggestions? Cross-posting to the open thread.
"So, I showed up at my polling place in person, this evening, only to learn that my name was nowhere on the voter rolls, and that my “VOTER REGISTRATION WAS CANCELLED AT THE VOTER’S REQUEST!” Un-friggin-believable.
I voted in May, by mail, and NEVER MISSED VOTING SINCE I WAS 18 and, also volunteered as a poll worker.
Moreover, I learned my husband’s voter registration was also cancelled, because “it was a duplicate”— whatever THAT means!
So, I voted by provisional ballot and will learn, after this Friday WHETHER my ballot will be counted! And, my husband and I were also given voter registration forms to get things squared away before November. FOLKS: THIS IS A HEADS UP, BE SURE YOU ARE REGISTERED TO VOTE!!! The regime, apparently, is hard at work disenfranchising voters."
I wasn't paying enough attention to pick up details like you that and the set was on mute anyway. Just waiting for the commercials to be the over so I couldgo back to watching the future shogun whimper and cry and just generally shame himself.
Hi, I build software and have worked on government contracts. The testing and auditing required on projects nowhere near as important as the distribution of ballots is rigorous. Even if the software is somehow not buggy as hell, then there's the vulnerability to cyber attacks (also probably a feature, not a bug). As a voter this pisses me off. As someone that's had to comply with all of the requirements of government contracts this makes me apoplectic.
Ta, Dok. As some of you know already, my late mother had a career at the post office. She started out sorting mail on the floor (she was never a letter carrier), then became secretary to the Postal Inspector in Trenton, then secretary to the Postmaster. She ended up EEOC Commissioner for the USPS Philadelphia Region, based in Trenton at their federal building, where she did a world of good. I can hear her rolling around in her pine box from these hundreds of miles away.
While each of us has only one vote, there are many other things we can do before Election Day. #1 is check your voter registration, and especially in places where the Democratic vote is actively being suppressed, keep checking to make sure it's current. Are you in a state that requires photo ID to cast a vote? "Lend" a little money to someone living on the edge so they can get a certified birth certificate or other necessary documents to obtain state ID. Once they have their documents in order, offer a ride to and from the DMV. Canvass. Postcard. Phonebank. If you're flush, donate to your chosen candidates. Talk to neighbors, colleagues, coworkers, friends, acquaintances, and family. Explain why, in this election, it's imperative to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot. Many people do not own cars, including students. TX (to use one example) has closed many polling places on university and college campuses, so if you can, put together a small scale Souls to the Polls; give students rides to and from their new polling sites. Do the same for people making minimum wage; either take them to vote before work then drive them to the job, or pick them up after work, take them to vote, then drive them home.
Meccalopolis votes Up Here, and drives to the county Board of Elections to use their dropbox. I vote in NYC. My Election Day polling place is right around the corner from our tenement. My early voting site is a little farther afield, a 15 minute or so walk. I have never had a problem voting early or on Election Day, and I always take the I Voted sticker and display it. I've been a voting activist since age 15, when I carried petitions door to door (remember that? you're an elder) so Congress would give 18-year-olds, who were fighting and dying and getting PTSD in Vietnam, the vote. That worked. I was among the first 18-year-olds to vote, against that crooked POS Nixon. I vote in every D primary and every general election, every year. I wish more of my fellow Democrats would do the same, and I hope turnout this November is so great that all their cheating, lying, and ratfucking fails spectacularly. When we vote, we WIN!!
It might not be a bad idea to use a ballot drop box, rather than a mailbox. Oregon has had mail-in ballots for years, but in 2024, we hand-delivered ours to an election worker, rather than take any chances.
I posted this way back in October when they were tear-gassing the guy in the frog costume, but it's relevant again, or still.
I have the utmost respect for the peaceful protestors in Minneapolis, Portland, and elsewhere.
What I take issue with is the argument that being anything BUT peaceful, meek, and conciliatory "will give them the excuse they're looking for to cancel the midterms".
They're de facto cancelling the midterms right now, in front of Congress and everybody.
They will probably try to de jure cancel them with some kind of tweet or imperial proclamation, or some such goddamn nonsense.
If they can't do that, they will simply refuse to certify any result they don't like. Mike Pence may have been a putz, but he's fuckin' Gandhi compared to the traitors and ass-lickers in every office now.
We could physically kneel before them from now until November, and as with Martha's Vineyard, they will simply pretend that the opposite happened.
There might possibly be a spectrum of discussion of exactly what protestors should do and how they should do it.
"But the midterms!" Is not that argument.
I could really go for a warm bagatelle with some butter and strawberry jam this morning…and more coffee! Nurse! Nurse!!
Godd dammit I'm going to vote if I have to stand in line for 3 days to get my ballot, and drop it in a drop box.
Spokane Wa has ballot drop boxes all over the damn place. Been here since 2004, only one time did I mail my ballot (after we switched ot vite by mail only).
After that first time, I had an interesting chat with our mail carrier, and he asked us if we had moved here from CaliFORnia. I said yeah, and my wife was originially from Spokane, so we are just moving home for her.
He said "yeah, ok, thats good, it's all the ho--mo--SEXuals moving up from Ca--li--FORnia that are ruinng everything."
I didnt trust him to not just toss my ballot in the trash after that, and I've used a drop box ever since.
Why does Trump hate Democracy so much?!
It looks like voting in person is the thing right now. Put in for a day off on election day if you can.
This admin is hell bent on rigging the elections in any way it can.
We need to Blue this thing up!
I'm still requesting a mail in ballot but not holding my breath.
Not to put to fine a point on it, but the Postal Service is under the authority of the Congress (Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution) and not under the Executive. As such, Executive Orders have no authority over the USPS.
But the current Postmaster General is a craven coward and will do anything that the Fat Orange Pustule tells him to do.
And I thought Louis DeJoy was a POS. Boy, was I wrong.
No, you were right about DeJoy. This guy is an even BIGGER piece of shit! A real toilet-clogger.
Ok, let's look at (hopefully) practical solutions. Assume mail-in voting is screwed in your state, or that there is a good chance it will get screwed up. I'm not sure we can trust drop boxes.
One caveat first - make sure what you are trying to do doesn't run afoul of local and state laws.
We need to move as many people as possible to early voting in person. This is to avoid tampering with drop boxes and intentional screwups with US mail as they're trying to set up.
1) Reach out to all the area nursing homes, assisted living and independent living facilities in your area. They almost all have a bus/van Ask if they have plans to take residents to early polling locations. If not, ask them to do so and let you know within a week. Just replace one of the regular weekly excursions to Walmart, etc. If they say they can't do it, Ask if you can post a flyer with pull off tabs clearly stating your availability to give people rides to early vote. (If you are in a position to do so.) Ask if they can help them verify they are registered to vote buy Oct. 1st.
Ask on Facebook and Nextdoor if anyone needs assistance either registering, verifying registration or knows of someone who does. Encourage others to make themselves available. Auggest they can make a request on the platform.
Your state, county and city probably have programs to assist home-bound people and the elderly. Find out if they are doing anything and if you can help
Any other suggestions? Cross-posting to the open thread.
Posted by my girl cousin earlier today:
"So, I showed up at my polling place in person, this evening, only to learn that my name was nowhere on the voter rolls, and that my “VOTER REGISTRATION WAS CANCELLED AT THE VOTER’S REQUEST!” Un-friggin-believable.
I voted in May, by mail, and NEVER MISSED VOTING SINCE I WAS 18 and, also volunteered as a poll worker.
Moreover, I learned my husband’s voter registration was also cancelled, because “it was a duplicate”— whatever THAT means!
So, I voted by provisional ballot and will learn, after this Friday WHETHER my ballot will be counted! And, my husband and I were also given voter registration forms to get things squared away before November. FOLKS: THIS IS A HEADS UP, BE SURE YOU ARE REGISTERED TO VOTE!!! The regime, apparently, is hard at work disenfranchising voters."
Just checked and my registration is fine. Thanks for sharing.
I wasn't paying enough attention to pick up details like you that and the set was on mute anyway. Just waiting for the commercials to be the over so I couldgo back to watching the future shogun whimper and cry and just generally shame himself.
Hi, I build software and have worked on government contracts. The testing and auditing required on projects nowhere near as important as the distribution of ballots is rigorous. Even if the software is somehow not buggy as hell, then there's the vulnerability to cyber attacks (also probably a feature, not a bug). As a voter this pisses me off. As someone that's had to comply with all of the requirements of government contracts this makes me apoplectic.
Not tio get all "moral" on ya, but damn!, the GOP is evil.
i feel like the us postal theme music should be yackety saks, on a loop
He usually is the rat behind the arras.
He can't help his leaking because he is so desperate to be thought powerful hence the constant "I know something you don't know".
Ta, Dok. As some of you know already, my late mother had a career at the post office. She started out sorting mail on the floor (she was never a letter carrier), then became secretary to the Postal Inspector in Trenton, then secretary to the Postmaster. She ended up EEOC Commissioner for the USPS Philadelphia Region, based in Trenton at their federal building, where she did a world of good. I can hear her rolling around in her pine box from these hundreds of miles away.
While each of us has only one vote, there are many other things we can do before Election Day. #1 is check your voter registration, and especially in places where the Democratic vote is actively being suppressed, keep checking to make sure it's current. Are you in a state that requires photo ID to cast a vote? "Lend" a little money to someone living on the edge so they can get a certified birth certificate or other necessary documents to obtain state ID. Once they have their documents in order, offer a ride to and from the DMV. Canvass. Postcard. Phonebank. If you're flush, donate to your chosen candidates. Talk to neighbors, colleagues, coworkers, friends, acquaintances, and family. Explain why, in this election, it's imperative to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot. Many people do not own cars, including students. TX (to use one example) has closed many polling places on university and college campuses, so if you can, put together a small scale Souls to the Polls; give students rides to and from their new polling sites. Do the same for people making minimum wage; either take them to vote before work then drive them to the job, or pick them up after work, take them to vote, then drive them home.
Meccalopolis votes Up Here, and drives to the county Board of Elections to use their dropbox. I vote in NYC. My Election Day polling place is right around the corner from our tenement. My early voting site is a little farther afield, a 15 minute or so walk. I have never had a problem voting early or on Election Day, and I always take the I Voted sticker and display it. I've been a voting activist since age 15, when I carried petitions door to door (remember that? you're an elder) so Congress would give 18-year-olds, who were fighting and dying and getting PTSD in Vietnam, the vote. That worked. I was among the first 18-year-olds to vote, against that crooked POS Nixon. I vote in every D primary and every general election, every year. I wish more of my fellow Democrats would do the same, and I hope turnout this November is so great that all their cheating, lying, and ratfucking fails spectacularly. When we vote, we WIN!!