(05-22-2020, 08:01 PM)Last42min Wrote: So, let me throw this out there and see how it's received. I think the big difference between mail in voting between parties is need. I think the DNC NEEDS mail in voting, because their base has been reluctant to get out and vote. They feel like if they can organize and harvest ballots, that will give them an advantage, and I suspect that's true. I also think this is why Republicans are against it. I don't think Republicans NEED mail in voting, and the few areas where it's been expanded, there are questionable tactics, like in NC. Imo, I don't believe Democrats want mail-in voting because they want to fix the election. However, I do think it's a form of "cheating," for lack of a better word. Democrats are more organized and have been mobilizing their voter base for years, so it won't be hard for them to transition to ballot harvesting. I think Republicans will have a hard time adapting to this method, but they will eventually.

I really don't mind the thought of mail-in voting as a general practice, but I can image how annoying election years are going to become. You're going to have people at your doors all the time, with ballots that are pre-selected. "Just sign here," they'll say. The whole thing has the potential to get burdensome and exploitative. I also think that the more partisan the gatherers become, the more likely it is that we are going to see fraud in the form of missing and forged ballots. You're putting a lot of space between the voter and the box. I think we will see a lot of "mishandling." Even though fraud is not widespread now, when the practice expands, so will the abuse. I think there is a ton of potential for fraud in the future.

What if harvesting can only be done if both major parties are present?

Historically speaking, high voter turnout correlates with Democrats winning. But 2016 was an exception to that, Republicans basically swept those elections, even though turnout was up compared to 2012. 

It's not like we have elections very often, so the 2016 election could show that the past trend is over, could be an aberration, we won't know for another decade!  Doesn't matter, we get to listen to a bunch of highly motivated thinkers argue about mail in voting, when what they're really concerned about is optimizing voter turnout for their party.

The other part is that Trump is all in on the "Democrats = voter fraud" narrative. Unfortunately it's about 1/4 to 1/3 of us who let anything that dude makes up become the gospel truth.

I share your concerns about ballot harvesters getting more aggressive and less scrupulous over time. I'm more than happy to let California be the guinea pigs for that. Unfortunately, their experiment muddies the water for us. When someone in Missouri is protesting that it should be easier for them to get a mail in ballot, their neighbor might hear that and think that they're talking about California style ballot harvesting when they're really just talking about Florida style absentee ballots.

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