On Aug 16, 2008, at 10:08 PM, Juho wrote:
I wonder what kind of a vote-by-mail system is in use there. If it
is just based on ordinary mail that one can send from one's home or
anywhere (and doesn't offer any way to cancel and replace the vote)
then that seems to offer opportunities for coercion and vote buying.
The early voting system that I'm used to (and that is very popular)
is however one where you vote under the observation of an election
official (that can be e.g. a post office worker that takes care of
early voting) that then puts your secret vote that you have put in
one envelope into another envelope (under your eyes) that he will
send to your local election authorities.
This method offers the election officials some more chances to
violate your privacy if they so wish (since your name will appear in
the papers inside the outer envelope) (not probable though) but
coercion and vote buying (without the involvement of the election
officials) is about as difficult as with traditional voting at the
official voting site on the election day.
In California, something like 35-40% of voters vote by mail (the
percentage is increasing), and it's just like mailing a letter. One's
ballot comes in the mail, you mark it at home, and drop it in a
mailbox to return it. I assume that Oregon has a similar method, but
I'm not personally familiar with it.
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