ABSENTEE MAKES THE HEART GROW NERVOUS

I’m seriously concerned about absentee ballots; i.e., about the security thereof. In the packet sent me were an instruction sheet, two envelopes, and the ballot itself. The procedure was to mark the ballot, seal it inside the smaller, security envelope – it was called – and then seal that inside the mailing envelope. On the back of this last was a printed label with my name and a space for my signature, which was required.

Experience has taught me to mistrust the Postal Service on most points, so I didn’t mail it. Between sender and recipient various people handle a letter, and what if one of them should recognize my name and, having voting sentiments opposite mine, throw it away? What’s to prevent that? Similarly, what if an unscrupulous person, not acquainted with me, in the chain knows that people in my area generally favor Party A and is, himself, an adherent to Party B? What’s to hinder his disposal of my ballot?

When I delivered my letter in person at the place designated I asked the clerk just what becomes of it from that point forward. She said the office verifies the signatures, accumulates envelopes in a larger envelope, and delivers that to the vote-counters. With that she placed mine on a desk and walked away.

This is vote security? Of course, to the extent of their ability to catch forgeries, they can stop someone else’s using my ballot, but, again, what happens to it before transfer to the counting house? Couldn’t she, as soon as I walked out, have flushed mine down a toilet? In that office, anyone that wants to eliminate my vote and has an opportunity, which did not appear to be lacking, can do it. The moment I handed her that envelope she should have recorded in a log of some sort that Yves Chauvire’s ballot arrived. Then, when the absentee ballots are tallied, if mine is not among them, alarms should sound.

In this country there is no shortage of people that will attempt to cheat in every situation. We need better voting security systems, and they would be simple to design and implement. Often we hear about “one man, one vote;” it looked to me as if I could prove to be “one man, no vote.”