Orange County to send out Mail-in-Ballots today. But to everyone? Who is minding the store?

There is definitely a time for casting an absentee ballot: ill or immobile voters, travelers, military, etc. EICa recommends voting in person if at all possible.

BUT the only way to ensure INTEGRITY in the election process is to limit voting by mail to those who have no other choice.

VOTING IN PERSON

VOTING BY MAIL

perceived as less convenient   deterrent against multiple or fraudulent votes   guarantees privacy   guarantees vote submitted without alteration   assures prompt counting   assures ALL voters have access to ALL information before voting   fosters the communal aspect of citizens voting together   eliminates threat of ballot harvesting   BY THE WAY:   turn-out increases in ALL demographics when ID is required   MANDATORY VOTE BY MAIL: does not increase turnout or save $$    disenfranchises those without mailing address and those who cannot go to ROV office or vote center if ballot does not reach them   negatively impacts handicapped voters

“convenient”    open to successful multiple registrations and fraudulent votes   no guarantee of privacy   no guarantee your vote arrives untouched, unaltered, or at all   delayed counting; rejection potential   often duplicated; original not counted = easy manipulation    encourages EARLY voting, i.e., voting before all information is in   harvesting danger   submitting in person does NOT change the processing disadvantages   Remote Access Vote by Mail for non-handicapped or deployed military poses greater risk to secret ballot and ballot manipulation, as well as fraudulent voting

RECOMMENDATIONS:  

• Do NOT vote using an envelope unless absolutely necessary 

• Strongly oppose any attempt to move California to ALL Vote By Mail elections

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