Voter Registration

[QueenAdrock]

Do any of you all do this? How about other volunteer stuff?

I donate time around election time when the Dem's need it more, to do voter registration and work the polls. I'm one of the youngest to do it, but I still love the feeling of making a difference, no matter how small it may be.

I'm going to do voter registration next week with Maryland's Democratic Party. Plus, Tom Colbert (Stephen's brother) is doing the registration with me. He's an awesome guy. I'm gonna try to get childhood stories out of him. :)

[DroppinScience]

How does voter registration work in the States? It always seems like it's tougher to get registered.

In Canada, it felt like it was done for me. I tried to register for the federal election in 2004 (which was the first national election I was eligible to vote in... I previously voted in provincial and municipal elections), but they were all like: "Uhh... you already are registered to vote" and I'm all like, okay. :confused:

[QueenAdrock]

Well, here there are several organizations that are allowed to do voter registration because they've gotten special permission. Since I'm working for the DNC in Maryland, they'll give me a whole bunch of voter registration cards where people will fill out their address, phone, age, birthday, and political affiliation. I just collect the cards and turn them into the DNC, who will in turn give them to the authorities and have them put it officially into the system, usually 1-2 weeks.

However, you can sign up to vote when you get your license renewed on your 18th birthday. When you go into the DMV, you can do it almost instantly - which is why I don't understand that only half of America is registered when it's so easy. Maybe they don't drive.

Either way, this system CAN be flawed. There were many reports in 2004 that crooked people were able to do voter registration and threw away the registrations of those who didn't sign up for their party. My one friend signed up as a Republican but was planning to vote for Kerry, and her registration got conveniently "lost." Which is exactly why you should never try to affect the electoral process like that - not only is it extremely morally corrupt and WRONG, but you also have no idea how they'll be voting, regardless of political affiliation.

[DroppinScience]

See, there's the problem, when you register to vote, they shouldn't be asking you your political affiliation. At ALL.

Canadian elections don't demand you do so, so why do US elections want to know if you're Republican, Democrat or anything else? :confused:

[SobaViolence]

so the lawyers know who to block when they vote.

but most of the time, they just go to the coloured neighborhoods.

[QueenAdrock]

See, there's the problem, when you register to vote, they shouldn't be asking you your political affiliation. At ALL.

Canadian elections don't demand you do so, so why do US elections want to know if you're Republican, Democrat or anything else? :confused:

For the primaries. You can only vote in the Democratic primary if you're a Democrat, and you can only vote in the Republican primary if you're Republican. Independents can't vote in the primaries.

They also take down your political affiliation for statistic reasons, I believe. So they'll know how many of each are living in the country, and from that determine how "the base" votes during the elections. When you go to vote, it will tell you what you're registered as, and then when you vote, it'll record that information too. It does make sense, but I think that they should have more trustworthy people taking down their information.

[DroppinScience]

Okay, I get that.

But I thought in some states, non-affiliated people can vote in Democratic and/or Republican primaries (every state has different rules for primaries, caucuses, etc. and I thought I saw that a handful of states allow ANYONE to vote in a primary... or maybe I dreamt that).

[Documad]

In Minnesota you're not identified by party affiliation. And if you show up on election day and can prove who you are and where you live you can register and vote all at once. There is absolutely no excuse not to vote.

At the primary, you show up and everyone gets one form. You're told that you can only vote in the democratic or republican primary (they're in different columns). No one knows which primary you voted in. It used to be even looser. Then we had an election where a lot of democrats voted in the republican primary for governor (to get the worst candidate on the ticket) and then voted in all the other democratic races. We can still vote in the opposing party's primary, but we have to do it across the board and we loose our chance to vote in our party's other races.

QA, I think what you're doing is very important and I wish it wasn't all retired people. I can't do neutral stuff because it conflicts with my work for democrats.

[Schmeltz]

Your American system is ridiculous. I voted in the last election, in January. I wasn't registered at all, but when I showed up at the poll they asked me for my address and signature and I was done. It took all of forty seconds.

[DroppinScience]

Your American system is ridiculous. I voted in the last election, in January. I wasn't registered at all, but when I showed up at the poll they asked me for my address and signature and I was done. It took all of forty seconds.

True as that may be, Canada's voter turnout hasn't been that spectacular either, despite the fact that it seems far easier to register to vote.

My dad voted in this election (he actually seldom, if ever, votes... but that's something my brother and I have been working on), and he was actually given the runaround and told to go to various places before he could FINALLY vote.

He ended up voting Conservative -- Rona Ambrose represents his riding -- but only because Rona Ambrose is hot. Oh, brother. :rolleyes:

[QueenAdrock]

Your dad voted Conservative? Oh, Brett. :(

At least his reasoning was in the right place. If it was something like you hear around here, "I voted for Dubya because he's gonna kick them camel-jockey's asses! WOO-EE! YIPPEE-KI-YAY!" then I'd be a little concerned.

That's odd to hear that not all states do voting the same way, I thought that it was pretty much the same across the board. And I'm going to be doing voter registration with the DNC - yeah, we're biased, but we try to get EVERYONE to sign up. There are many moderate Republicans who live in Maryland who may very well vote for your person, so even if we have a bias it'd be silly to try and get only Democrats to sign up.

[DroppinScience]

Your dad voted Conservative? Oh, Brett. :(


His vote was a very uninformed vote, but whatever. At least I got him to vote Liberal on the provincial level of government. (y)

My mom and my brother went for the New Democratic Party, and I voted Green, so it's all good.

[QueenAdrock]

I'm doing data entry tonight and probably tomorrow night, and then doing phonebanking to Democrats on Sunday and Wednesday. I'm also trying to be a comfort captain next week. Basically, when people come back from being out door-to-door, I get to comfort them (Republicans have been quite nasty in the past) and give them sammiches and stuff.

Woot! :)

[TimDoolan]

Do any of you all do this? How about other volunteer stuff?

I donate time around election time when the Dem's need it more, to do voter registration and work the polls. I'm one of the youngest to do it, but I still love the feeling of making a difference, no matter how small it may be.

I'm going to do voter registration next week with Maryland's Democratic Party. Plus, Tom Colbert (Stephen's brother) is doing the registration with me. He's an awesome guy. I'm gonna try to get childhood stories out of him. :)

Sounds fine, but not on college campuses. Kids temporarily residing in the college town don't know that the government uses voting records for jury duty. If a student doesn't cancel that shit they could call him up for jury duty, and if he's out of town or something he could get fucked. It happened to a friend of mine

[sam i am]

I love it that Schmeltz thinks it's great to be able to register and vote the same day...just by proving where you live:rolleyes:

Yeah...no trouble with fraud or anything there.

As for our American system...yes...voter turnout sucks.

However, in my never to be humble opinion, it's much better that way. Those who are passionate and know what the heck they are voting on are motivated enough to get themselves up and vote. Those who don't care get to vote too...by NOT voting.

As Yakoff Smirnoff used to say : "what a country!" (Is Borat the modern-day Yakoff?:D )

[Schmeltz]

If you can prove where you live, then where does the fraud come in?

[sam i am]

If you can prove where you live, then where does the fraud come in?

It doesn't ensure your citizenship (which is required to vote in the US); it doesn't tell whthere you are a convicted felon or not (also a requirement in the US NOT to be a convicted felon); it doesn't show how old you are (you need to be 18 to vote in the US); it doesn't show whether you are intellectually competent or not (those with mental disabilities are not allowed to vote in the US).

[Schmeltz]

Do you think I didn't have to provide any documentation and I just told them where I lived?

Oh sam. You're so poor at reading between the lines.

[sam i am]

Do you think I didn't have to provide any documentation and I just told them where I lived?

Oh sam. You're so poor at reading between the lines.


Schmeltz, read your own post :

I voted in the last election, in January. I wasn't registered at all, but when I showed up at the poll they asked me for my address and signature and I was done. It took all of forty seconds.

You were pretty clear with what you posted. Are you telling us you lied when you posted that?

[Schmeltz]

See, I figured you might be able to guess that I "provided proof of my address" instead of just "orally pronouncing my address." I guess I must have been asking too much of you. I'll talk slower next time.

[sam i am]

See, I figured you might be able to guess that I "provided proof of my address" instead of just "orally pronouncing my address." I guess I must have been asking too much of you. I'll talk slower next time.

Don't bother talking slower....just be clear so there's a lack of misunderstandings, mmmkay?

As for your point : yep...sounds like your system is way better :rolleyes:

Also, you didn't address my fraud points above. I guess you just concede the argument, eh?

[Schmeltz]

Alright, I will talk slower then. You see, at least where I live, all of those points can be covered by providing the appropriate documentation. Voting is recorded by civic officials who can flag people who are felons or not competent (although I'm not sure what the laws are regarding competence up here) or not citizens by checking against a database that contains all that information.

Is this simple enough for you, or do I need to spend any more time explaining what is really a very easy-to-understand notion?

[sam i am]

Alright, I will talk slower then. You see, at least where I live, all of those points can be covered by providing the appropriate documentation. Voting is recorded by civic officials who can flag people who are felons or not competent (although I'm not sure what the laws are regarding competence up here) or not citizens by checking against a database that contains all that information.

Is this simple enough for you, or do I need to spend any more time explaining what is really a very easy-to-understand notion?

So it only took forty seconds, eh?;)

As for your statement that all you provided was your signature and proof of residence...guess that was a lie then? Cause it SOUNDS like you have to do more than that....

[Schmeltz]

Yes, providing sufficient documented proof of who I was and where I lived took probably somewhere in the neighbourhood of forty seconds, and following that I was legally registered to vote, which took me even less time. I'm really not sure why this is so difficult for you to believe.

[sam i am]

Yes, providing sufficient documented proof of who I was and where I lived took probably somewhere in the neighbourhood of forty seconds, and following that I was legally registered to vote, which took me even less time. I'm really not sure why this is so difficult for you to believe.

Because you doublespeak and are full of it. You conceded it took longer, tried to back away with your "...read between the lines" crap AND you've had no retort to the fraud possibilities I enumerated above.

Have a nice day :)

[Schmeltz]

You conceded it took longer


No I didn't.


you've had no retort to the fraud possibilities I enumerated above



You see, at least where I live, all of those points can be covered by providing the appropriate documentation. Voting is recorded by civic officials who can flag people who are felons or not competent (although I'm not sure what the laws are regarding competence up here) or not citizens by checking against a database that contains all that information.

[Documad]

Voter fraud hasn't been an issue where I live. I haven't heard of any cases of someone voting who shouldn't have been able to. What is a problem is republicans trying to keep eligible citizens from voting just because they don't drive a car. You're not required to drive a car to vote. You're not required to pay a poll tax of any kind.

It's apparent how important the various secretary of state elections are.

[sam i am]

Voter fraud hasn't been an issue where I live. I haven't heard of any cases of someone voting who shouldn't have been able to. What is a problem is republicans trying to keep eligible citizens from voting just because they don't drive a car. You're not required to drive a car to vote. You're not required to pay a poll tax of any kind.

It's apparent how important the various secretary of state elections are.

I agree that IF we require photo ID to vote in the elections nationwide (or even on a state by state level), we should also be willing to provide no-cost ID's to those who want to vote. Whether it would make a difference or not depends on how much you trust those who tally votes and those who MAY vote multiple times in a given election cycle.

[sam i am]

You see, at least where I live, all of those points can be covered by providing the appropriate documentation. Voting is recorded by civic officials who can flag people who are felons or not competent (although I'm not sure what the laws are regarding competence up here) or not citizens by checking against a database that contains all that information.

So....you're stating you have to "show your papers," eh?

How....naziistic of your society. What a shame.

[STANKY808]

Obviously Canada is quite "naziistic".

People are registered to vote and as such receive their voting card in the mail before the election which has their name and address on it as well as the polling station they are to attend in order to vote.
And being all backwards and stuff up in Canukistan, people can register when they file their income taxes as well as use their tax return as means to keep their residence information up to date. This is voluntary and done by ticking a box on the tax return. If you are not registered at the time of the election there is simple process where you provide basic personal information and then you get a ballot.

See the info. here, it's really not that complicated (or authoritarian);

http://www.elections.ca/content_youth.asp?section=yth&dir=bas/faq&document=index&lang=e#q02

[sam i am]

Obviously Canada is quite "naziistic".

People are registered to vote and as such receive their voting card in the mail before the election which has their name and address on it as well as the polling station they are to attend in order to vote.
And being all backwards and stuff up in Canukistan, people can register when they file their income taxes as well as use their tax return as means to keep their residence information up to date. This is voluntary and done by ticking a box on the tax return. If you are not registered at the time of the election there is simple process where you provide basic personal information and then you get a ballot.

See the info. here, it's really not that complicated (or authoritarian);

http://www.elections.ca/content_youth.asp?section=yth&dir=bas/faq&document=index&lang=e#q02

Interesting. Thanks for the link.

The "naziistic" comment was more to bug Schmeltz than any serious attempt to link Canadian society to a past that is best not reguritated.

Anyhow, I wonder how Conservatives possibly get elected up there if it's so easy for anyone 18 or over to vote?

[STANKY808]

Interesting. Thanks for the link.

The "naziistic" comment was more to bug Schmeltz than any serious attempt to link Canadian society to a past that is best not reguritated.

Anyhow, I wonder how Conservatives possibly get elected up there if it's so easy for anyone 18 or over to vote?

WTF does that mean? Are you implying voter fraud with the above comment? What exactly are you driving at? I mean the world knows how the Republic Party gets elected down there through voter suppression and all, but I'm at a loss as to your above comment.

[sam i am]

WTF does that mean? Are you implying voter fraud with the above comment? What exactly are you driving at? I mean the world knows how the Republic Party gets elected down there through voter suppression and all, but I'm at a loss as to your above comment.

I can't imagine, with it so patently obvious to most that the Liberal way of thinking is so obviously superior, that Conservatives (or Republicans here in the States) ever manage to get elected to any office at all. I don't understand why the mass of the populace doesn't embrace the far superior way of thinking and acting as a government that Liberals and Democrats so inherently embody.

Interesting.

[Schmeltz]

That was an amusing attempt to derail the thread altogether, but I don't think anybody is going to bite.


we should also be willing to provide no-cost ID's to those who want to vote.


That's essentially the way the Canadian system works, as Stanky pointed out. It's no trouble or inconvenience to provide the appropriate documentation when you register to vote, and indeed the system would be more prone to fraud if such a system did not exist. You shouldn't need a specific piece of ID that allows you to vote; you should simply be able to fall back on the information used by the government to keep track of everyday things like whether your taxes are in order or whether you have a criminal record.

Again: it really isn't that difficult and it strikes me that your time would be better spent working to simplify the (apparently) overly complicated and restrictive voting process in your own country than in making facile and poorly informed criticisms of that used in others. After all, your words are only so much hot air without the money and muscle to back them up. Right?

[QueenAdrock]

I don't understand why the mass of the populace doesn't embrace the far superior way of thinking and acting

Think of your average man. The average American if you will. He's the one that needs "Do not use in bathtub" stickers on hairdryers. He's the guy on the road that has no idea how to use traffic circles or turn signals. He's the one that votes based on his gut, rather than his brain, because it's what FEELS right. He's the one who votes for someone who talks and acts like he does because he likes the idea of an "average joe" like him being in office. And there's still about 49% of the population who's dumber than he is.

It's very easy to see why people don't vote liberal. Just driving through middle America, you can FEEL the conservatism in the air. The mistrust for city people, the mistrust of college folk, mistrust of people who don't work off the land, don't work with their hands and make a living that way. They'll never embrace the liberal way of thinking because educated city folk are those to be mistrusted. I've heard that several times from the horse's mouth, too. I was deep in Bush country in January 2005, in rural Tennessee. They said liberals are all brains and no heart, they told me. Though with that thinking, I don't know why WE'RE the ones who are called "bleeding-hearts."

I think you may just have too much faith in the average man. I do not. The average man in my mind is dumb. Last I checked, only about 50% of America goes on to obtain a university degree. Higher education isn't a priority to a majority of people. I wouldn't expect them to vote liberal.

My two cents.

[sam i am]

Think of your average man. The average American if you will. He's the one that needs "Do not use in bathtub" stickers on hairdryers. He's the guy on the road that has no idea how to use traffic circles or turn signals. He's the one that votes based on his gut, rather than his brain, because it's what FEELS right. He's the one who votes for someone who talks and acts like he does because he likes the idea of an "average joe" like him being in office. And there's still about 49% of the population who's dumber than he is.

It's very easy to see why people don't vote liberal. Just driving through middle America, you can FEEL the conservatism in the air. The mistrust for city people, the mistrust of college folk, mistrust of people who don't work off the land, don't work with their hands and make a living that way. They'll never embrace the liberal way of thinking because educated city folk are those to be mistrusted. I've heard that several times from the horse's mouth, too. I was deep in Bush country in January 2005, in rural Tennessee. They said liberals are all brains and no heart, they told me. Though with that thinking, I don't know why WE'RE the ones who are called "bleeding-hearts."

I think you may just have too much faith in the average man. I do not. The average man in my mind is dumb. Last I checked, only about 50% of America goes on to obtain a university degree. Higher education isn't a priority to a majority of people. I wouldn't expect them to vote liberal.

My two cents.

Wow.

Sounds like Democrats are doomed, then.

It must REALLY hurt when the University indoctrination machine spews out someone like myself, who is fully educated, yet Conservative.

It's almost like losing TWO votes when that happens.:D :p