I have given thought to the idea of the presidential election only, it is the only true national office, being done on the internet via the social security website. That site already exists, everyone gets a social security number when they are born and they can tell if someone is old enough to vote and actually legal to do so. Every 4 years a tab is opened up for the sale purpose of casting a vote for POTUS/VP. The tab works 24 hours a day for just 2 or 3 days in November, it shuts down at midnight on election night and results are announced within an hour give or take. No need for days/weeks/months of early voting, no need for mail in ballots, log on from home, work, your phone, the library computer, wherever, vote and be done. As for all the other elected offices if your state wants to allow shenanigans, go for it, not my problem how you pick your senator etc. Just a thought.
I didn't even start reading this thread yet, but my very first off-the-cuff past-my-bedtime thought is that if they implemented that, on the first election it was used in that would be the most targeted website in the history of the internet. Every hacker from Beijing to North Sentinel Island would be assaulting it from the minute it opened. It'd be the Nerd Olympics. 😄
That is a very real possibility and could make it impossible to even consider. The rest of the thread and long comments is Bob and I sharing our personal histories of life growing up. Read at your own peril😜
I think that your ideas have some validity. Just for Devil's Advocate sake, I can see a number of problems that would need to be addressed. The biggest issue would be with site security. No website which is connected to the overall web is completely hack proof. There have been examples of government agencies "oopsie, we were hacked, and ap million of you had information stolen."
Second question I would have is how to verify the location of the voter. I had an ex-friend who continued to use his wife's address as his official social security home of record although he lived in a different state. Since Presidential elections are determined by electoral vote there needs to be a solid verification plan in place.
Thirdly, the system as it stands is too easy to game. How often do we hear about someone collecting social security checks for years after their relative or assisted living patient passed away? Similarly, how often do we read of people using the social security number of someone who died decades ago? Or people who are using a completely fake social security number? Although that would be simple to stop; if the number isn't valid it is rejected.
In summary, I like the idea, but I think that before it could be implemented it would need some work.
I apologize for the long winded response. This idea intrigues me and potentially is a good answer to the situation. Much better than anything I've heard from our national "leaders" from either party.
Voting should be no more than 1 day, no early voting & verified absentee ballots only and must be received the day of the election before polls closed. (Verified as in: one calls the BOE to request an application for absentee ballot).
All good concerns and things I have thought of as well. There just has to be a better way for that one national vote vs every state doing thei thing for their state and local voting.
Full disclaimer: I was in student government in high school and college. A political science/history double major at Michigan State in the mid 70s. So I have an interest in any political process. I also tend to blather on once I get started, so I've been told.😀
I appreciate you not thinking I was attacking your thoughts. 👍
I also walked the neighborhood with mom to register voters. She’d hit up anyone that had just moved in or may have changed a name. She personally knew everyone that walked through the front door to vote in our house. The good old days.
The good old days indeed! I grew up as a government brat. I consider myself fortunate because during the turmoil of the 60s we lived in Japan (1965-1970) and I was able to watch from the outside. Both of my parents were from farmer stock in Iowa, and similar to your experience they were big on doing your civic duty and giving back to the country for the blessings you received. I have voted in 92 elections since I became eligible in 1976 (primary and general); missing only one, the general election in 1979. I was in basic training at Ft. Knox and absentee ballots were "accidentally" not available because no one had ever requested one in a non Presidential year before. 😀
I was just in Dubuque Iowa for big bro’s 70th birthday. My parents were raised in Minnesota but ended up in So Cal. Got lots of family in the heartland part of the country. My siblings and I have all escaped the crazy of CA, I was last to leave 9 years ago.
I did student govt in junior and senior high also. Where I learned most of my voting and political stuff was at the foot of a mom that was very active in Republican Women in our small town and she also served as an inspector for every election. They voted in our livin* room from the time I was 7 years old until I left for college. Got in trouble once when my name was not crossed off of the roll as having voted absentee when I was three hours away in college. Mom called and gave me until the end of the day to get home and vote and I did, never made that error again, lol. I remember sitting at the dining room table after the polls closed and watching mom and the other women that had worked all day hand counting the ballots. The 5 of them had to agree on the count and any ballot with an error was set aside. At the end mom filled out the final tally, wrapped everything up in rubber banded packets by ballot color (by party), accounted for every ballot that had been delivered the day before the election, packed everything into the canvas ballot box, locked it with a padlock, called the police for an escort and delivered the ballot box to city hall. I loved watching the process and riding along to city hall to see it handed over. I was allowed to stay up past bedtime on that night. There was never any question about who won and results were announced within about 12 hours. Long winded replies are good😁
Unfortunately bro has early onset dementia so we didn’t do lots of big celebrating, it was lots of making sure he knew who we all were at any given moment. Had to see him one last time when he could recall who I was with just a little prompting. I lived in San Diego from 1976 (attended my last two years of college at SDSU) until we moved to north GA at the end of 2014. My Jersey born husband said he didn’t think he could remain in a state that re-elected someone I called Governor Moonbeam😂
Sorry for the delay. I didn't get the notification this time. I'm sorry to hear about your brother, especially since I'm 66 myself. Georgia is also nice. I'll be honest, I've been in all 50 states and there are positive things about every one of them.
I was going to ask, since you mentioned that your folks were from Minnesota, and I think that golden gopher folks will understand: were they on the Norwegian or Swedish side? 😀 Just kidding of course!
I have given thought to the idea of the presidential election only, it is the only true national office, being done on the internet via the social security website. That site already exists, everyone gets a social security number when they are born and they can tell if someone is old enough to vote and actually legal to do so. Every 4 years a tab is opened up for the sale purpose of casting a vote for POTUS/VP. The tab works 24 hours a day for just 2 or 3 days in November, it shuts down at midnight on election night and results are announced within an hour give or take. No need for days/weeks/months of early voting, no need for mail in ballots, log on from home, work, your phone, the library computer, wherever, vote and be done. As for all the other elected offices if your state wants to allow shenanigans, go for it, not my problem how you pick your senator etc. Just a thought.
I didn't even start reading this thread yet, but my very first off-the-cuff past-my-bedtime thought is that if they implemented that, on the first election it was used in that would be the most targeted website in the history of the internet. Every hacker from Beijing to North Sentinel Island would be assaulting it from the minute it opened. It'd be the Nerd Olympics. 😄
That is a very real possibility and could make it impossible to even consider. The rest of the thread and long comments is Bob and I sharing our personal histories of life growing up. Read at your own peril😜
I think that your ideas have some validity. Just for Devil's Advocate sake, I can see a number of problems that would need to be addressed. The biggest issue would be with site security. No website which is connected to the overall web is completely hack proof. There have been examples of government agencies "oopsie, we were hacked, and ap million of you had information stolen."
Second question I would have is how to verify the location of the voter. I had an ex-friend who continued to use his wife's address as his official social security home of record although he lived in a different state. Since Presidential elections are determined by electoral vote there needs to be a solid verification plan in place.
Thirdly, the system as it stands is too easy to game. How often do we hear about someone collecting social security checks for years after their relative or assisted living patient passed away? Similarly, how often do we read of people using the social security number of someone who died decades ago? Or people who are using a completely fake social security number? Although that would be simple to stop; if the number isn't valid it is rejected.
In summary, I like the idea, but I think that before it could be implemented it would need some work.
I apologize for the long winded response. This idea intrigues me and potentially is a good answer to the situation. Much better than anything I've heard from our national "leaders" from either party.
Have a great day!
Definitely security issue & hacking.
Voting should be no more than 1 day, no early voting & verified absentee ballots only and must be received the day of the election before polls closed. (Verified as in: one calls the BOE to request an application for absentee ballot).
All good concerns and things I have thought of as well. There just has to be a better way for that one national vote vs every state doing thei thing for their state and local voting.
Full disclaimer: I was in student government in high school and college. A political science/history double major at Michigan State in the mid 70s. So I have an interest in any political process. I also tend to blather on once I get started, so I've been told.😀
I appreciate you not thinking I was attacking your thoughts. 👍
I also walked the neighborhood with mom to register voters. She’d hit up anyone that had just moved in or may have changed a name. She personally knew everyone that walked through the front door to vote in our house. The good old days.
The good old days indeed! I grew up as a government brat. I consider myself fortunate because during the turmoil of the 60s we lived in Japan (1965-1970) and I was able to watch from the outside. Both of my parents were from farmer stock in Iowa, and similar to your experience they were big on doing your civic duty and giving back to the country for the blessings you received. I have voted in 92 elections since I became eligible in 1976 (primary and general); missing only one, the general election in 1979. I was in basic training at Ft. Knox and absentee ballots were "accidentally" not available because no one had ever requested one in a non Presidential year before. 😀
I was just in Dubuque Iowa for big bro’s 70th birthday. My parents were raised in Minnesota but ended up in So Cal. Got lots of family in the heartland part of the country. My siblings and I have all escaped the crazy of CA, I was last to leave 9 years ago.
I did student govt in junior and senior high also. Where I learned most of my voting and political stuff was at the foot of a mom that was very active in Republican Women in our small town and she also served as an inspector for every election. They voted in our livin* room from the time I was 7 years old until I left for college. Got in trouble once when my name was not crossed off of the roll as having voted absentee when I was three hours away in college. Mom called and gave me until the end of the day to get home and vote and I did, never made that error again, lol. I remember sitting at the dining room table after the polls closed and watching mom and the other women that had worked all day hand counting the ballots. The 5 of them had to agree on the count and any ballot with an error was set aside. At the end mom filled out the final tally, wrapped everything up in rubber banded packets by ballot color (by party), accounted for every ballot that had been delivered the day before the election, packed everything into the canvas ballot box, locked it with a padlock, called the police for an escort and delivered the ballot box to city hall. I loved watching the process and riding along to city hall to see it handed over. I was allowed to stay up past bedtime on that night. There was never any question about who won and results were announced within about 12 hours. Long winded replies are good😁
Why vote at all???? Just let the pollsters tell us who we would vote for if we had a choice and swear that person in
That is about where hubby is getting to.
Unfortunately bro has early onset dementia so we didn’t do lots of big celebrating, it was lots of making sure he knew who we all were at any given moment. Had to see him one last time when he could recall who I was with just a little prompting. I lived in San Diego from 1976 (attended my last two years of college at SDSU) until we moved to north GA at the end of 2014. My Jersey born husband said he didn’t think he could remain in a state that re-elected someone I called Governor Moonbeam😂
Sorry for the delay. I didn't get the notification this time. I'm sorry to hear about your brother, especially since I'm 66 myself. Georgia is also nice. I'll be honest, I've been in all 50 states and there are positive things about every one of them.
I was going to ask, since you mentioned that your folks were from Minnesota, and I think that golden gopher folks will understand: were they on the Norwegian or Swedish side? 😀 Just kidding of course!
Scots Irish as far as I know…on both sides. Knights and Maynards. Ya sure….
Jerry was the quintessential moonbeam!
That would be solid proof that we have gone to hell in a handbasket.