Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

The Election May Be Decided Before November 6
Townhall.com ^ | October 4, 2012 | Phyllis Schlafly

Posted on 10/04/2012 12:02:28 PM PDT by Kaslin

The presidential debates start October 3 and extend to October 22. But who wins or scores in the debates will have no influence on tens of thousands of Americans who will have already cast their votes for president and are not permitted to change their minds.

In 2008, 31 percent of voters cast their ballots prior to Election Day, and the count was more than half in some battleground states. The percentage is expected to top 40 percent this year since early voting is now allowed in 32 states and began in Iowa on September 27.

In 2008, John McCain received more votes than Barack Obama on Election Day in Iowa and in several other states, but Obama carried those states because his "Get Out the Vote" campaign was based on a month of voting rather than just on Election Day. Iowa even allows the creation of temporary voting locations aimed at serving particular constituencies, so when Michelle Obama spoke at the University of Northern Iowa, she told her audience to go immediately and cast their ballots just a few steps away at a special voting site.

In 2008, many Floridians cast their ballots prior to Election Day, and Obama won Florida by a surprisingly large margin. This year, statistical analysts may predict before Election Day which presidential candidate wins Florida and imply that the election is over.

How many will then take the trouble to vote on Election Day? That would be as silly as betting on a football game that was played last year.

Look at this year's battleground states. Party strategists estimate that 70 percent of ballots will be cast before November 6 in Florida, North Carolina, Colorado and Nevada, and at least 30 percent of ballots in Ohio, Wisconsin and Iowa.

The Democrats and union organizers have become very skilled at exploiting early voting. The Obama campaign is already sending out hundreds of field organizers and volunteers to "chase ballots" and make sure they carry votes for Obama.

Their assignment is to locate those they believe are Obama voters and nag them until they actually go to the polls. As an inducement, the organizers tell these voters that when their names come off the Obama target list, they will no longer get calls and mail from the campaign. In other words, the way to stop the political harassment is to hurry up and vote.

Early voting is exacerbating the influence of big money doled out by the Super PACs. Early voting requires candidates to spend large amounts of money and buy expensive television ads over many weeks, which most grassroots, non-establishment candidates can't afford to do.

A major defect of early voting is that it exponentially increases opportunities for ballot fraud and voter intimidation, and thereby undermines respect for elections and for confidence that our elections are fair and honest. It is virtually impossible to have the same safeguards and security measures against voter fraud that we maintain at regular polling places on Election Day, such as the requirement for voter ID and having poll watchers all day from the two major political parties.

Early voting, especially early weekend voting, also raises the prospect of increased voter intimidation of groups of people who are driven to the polls to vote under the supervision of those who brought them. Groups known to have been driven to the polls for early voting include employees from certain industries, union members and even patients in nursing homes who may not be fully cognizant of the purpose of the trip.

When early voting is allowed by mail, the voter is subject to intimidation from those who watch him mark his ballot or to whom he shows his ballot before he mails it. If the vote pleases the watcher, the voter can collect an anticipated reward in cash, merchandise, or some benefit. Whatever happened to our precious secret ballot?

Unfortunately, the Obama Administration and the courts have interfered with sensible attempts by states, including Florida and Ohio, to cut back excessive early voting the Obama Administration invoked its power under the Voting Rights Act to prevent several counties in Florida from reducing early voting hours.

Encouraging people to close their minds and cast an irrevocable ballot weeks before Election Day is as harmful to a fair election as it would be to allow jurors to vote guilty or not guilty before they hear all the evidence in a trial. Long trials can, indeed, be very inconvenient to jurors, but that's no excuse for allowing them to vote on what could be a matter of life-or-death before they hear all the arguments pro and con.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Front Page News; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2012; barackobama; debates; election; elections; mittromney; voterfraud
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-38 last
To: Emperor Palpatine

The real probs rest with third party registration fraud and old voter rolls.

States should purge voter rolls at no more than four year intervals and require citizens to register in person with their county registrars.


21 posted on 10/04/2012 2:35:51 PM PDT by Jacquerie (Exterminate rats.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Buckeye McFrog

“Early voting is a horrible, horrible idea.”

E-Yup! Get rid of All of it. Vote IN PERSON, ON ELECTION DAY, or Buzz Off.

Having Proof you were in a non-leavable hospital bed should be the Only absentee excuse allowed.

If you don’t care enough about the next 2,4, or 6 years your vote is deciding to even BE there in person, you don’t Matter enough to Deserve to be Voting.


22 posted on 10/04/2012 3:56:17 PM PDT by To-Whose-Benefit? (It is Error alone which needs the support of Government. The Truth can stand by itself.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: SMARTY

You think you might change your mind? I knew how I was voting for president a year ago. Local elections the minute the primary was over.


23 posted on 10/04/2012 3:59:20 PM PDT by discostu (Put another dime in the jukebox.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Jacquerie

Agreed.


24 posted on 10/04/2012 4:00:12 PM PDT by Emperor Palpatine ("On the ascent of Olympus, what's a botched bar or two?" -Artur Schnabel)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: Emperor Palpatine

Making people only vote on election day doesn’t make it special, it just adds to a Tuesday to do list. Candidates that are worth a crap make election day special, and apparently we don’t get those anymore.

The thing I really enjoy about early voting is the bills. I can look them up on the web and make my decision and put that decision right on the ballot. I used to write try to remember them, then I remembered I’m no good at that and started writing them down, but I always felt I was cribbing for a test.

I don’t think the old system really did work for over 200 years. For most of our history our level of voter turn out has been lower than other participatory governments. And those other places that have much higher turn out have generally made voting convenient, more than one day, often on weekends.


25 posted on 10/04/2012 4:09:15 PM PDT by discostu (Put another dime in the jukebox.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

After next Thursday’s VP debate the wind will be at the backs of Team R & R...


26 posted on 10/04/2012 4:17:16 PM PDT by Hotlanta Mike (Resurrect the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC)...before there is no America!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin; All

Don’t know why this article is not pointing out the Romney campaign’s early push. They are doing an excellent job of reaching voters and getting them to the polls early, an incredible operation far better than even the 2004 Bush voter campaign.

Obama made a lot of hay about his microcampaigns to target specific people and also the GOTV operation.

But, this time....we have matched or even exceeded it per articles.

“Iowa even allows the creation of temporary voting locations aimed at serving particular constituencies, so when Michelle Obama spoke at the University of Northern Iowa, she told her audience to go immediately and cast their ballots just a few steps away at a special voting site.”

Are churches taking advantage of this?

NOW....I will say, I am concerned about the GOP ending voter registration after firing that company.

Why doesn’t the GOP just do their own voter registration? That’s a critical piece post-debate...getting new GOP voters.


27 posted on 10/04/2012 4:41:52 PM PDT by rwfromkansas ("Carve your name on hearts, not marble." - C.H. Spurgeon)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Emperor Palpatine

I have no problem with early voting for the week before the election, but no earlier. Starting voting in September is especially ridiculous. There is so much left in the campaign.


28 posted on 10/04/2012 4:50:49 PM PDT by rwfromkansas ("Carve your name on hearts, not marble." - C.H. Spurgeon)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: Emperor Palpatine

I agree.


29 posted on 10/04/2012 5:32:24 PM PDT by Girlene
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin
Actually there is nothing wrong with early voting. For one thing it’s convenient

Agreed - wife and I just dropped our ballots into the mailbox tonight. Feels good, and it was very convenient.

Interestingly - in my state (Iowa) you can now track your absentee ballot online apparently. Am going to have to see how that works...

30 posted on 10/04/2012 6:09:29 PM PDT by !1776!
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind; LS; Perdogg; napscoordinator; God luvs America; nutmeg; SoFloFreeper; Ravi; ...

Poll Ping.


31 posted on 10/04/2012 6:11:45 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar (The pundits have forgotten the 2010 elections.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: To-Whose-Benefit?
Having Proof you were in a non-leavable hospital bed should be the Only absentee excuse allowed.

I would assume that you would make an exception for our service men and women on deployment overseas.

How about a work schedule that has you out of state or country (not in a hospital bed) regularly?

Voting age student at an out of state school?

Disabled (not bed ridden in a hospital) voter that can't readily get to the polls?

Might want to think your position through a bit. Standing in line to vote doesn't make your vote worth more than mine (which I mailed in today). It just means you stood in line.

And it sure as hell doesn't mean that I don't care about the next 2, 4, or 6 years. I don't deserve to vote - I have the right to vote regardless of what you think I deserve or where you want me to buzz to.

Go ahead and be there in person - good for you. But remember - my vote counts the same - and it is already cast...

32 posted on 10/04/2012 6:23:29 PM PDT by !1776!
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: !1776!

The small town I live in has been all absentee for probably 10 years. I think that is the way to go. Saves the county money and is more convenient. I think they should do this county wide or state wide like Oregon. As far as fraud goes having polling places every two blocks contributes a lot of fraud also.


33 posted on 10/04/2012 6:39:51 PM PDT by Lurkina.n.Learnin (Ignorance is bliss- I'm stoked)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

I saw an interesting article with a radical, yet effective solution: get rid of the secret ballot. Thus you would know who voted for whom. And could then verify it. It would also allow internet voting as well as a scenario where you could vote early and then change your vote before the polls closed.


34 posted on 10/04/2012 6:49:07 PM PDT by RKBA Democrat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

I saw an interesting article with a radical, yet effective solution: get rid of the secret ballot. Thus you would know who voted for whom. And could then verify it. It would also allow internet voting as well as a scenario where you could vote early and then change your vote before the polls closed.


35 posted on 10/04/2012 6:49:26 PM PDT by RKBA Democrat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: discostu

“I don’t think the old system really did work for over 200 years. For most of our history our level of voter turn out has been lower than other participatory governments.”

I wonder if we can see what the participation rate was before and after the institution of the secret ballot?


36 posted on 10/04/2012 6:52:18 PM PDT by RKBA Democrat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin
In 2008, many Floridians cast their ballots prior to Election Day, and Obama won Florida by a surprisingly large margin. This year, statistical analysts may predict before Election Day which presidential candidate wins Florida and imply that the election is over.

How many will then take the trouble to vote on Election Day? That would be as silly as betting on a football game that was played last year.

I know that people have short memories - but how did deciding not to vote “because it was over” work out for the people in the Florida Panhandle in 2000?
In 2010 we transitioned from living in NY-1 to living in PA-8. Still owning a house in NY, we might have voted there. We decided to vote here, and later sold our house. CD-8 here voted out a Democratic Congressman by a modest but clear margin. Back on Long Island, CD-1 failed to vote out a Democrat, by a margin narrow enough to take weeks to sort out. Go figure . . .

37 posted on 10/05/2012 4:47:42 AM PDT by conservatism_IS_compassion (The idea around which “liberalism" coheres is that NOTHING actually matters except PR.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin
Personally I think anyone that doesn’t know by now who to vote for, should leave the voting to those who know
It would be more logical to wish that those who “know” wrong would leave the voting to those who know right.

38 posted on 10/05/2012 4:51:06 AM PDT by conservatism_IS_compassion (The idea around which “liberalism" coheres is that NOTHING actually matters except PR.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-38 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson