Is it just me, or is Yanis Varoufakis indeed writing in his new article here about people who express themselves very much like @FFabian does?
For two years now, the German public has become convinced that Germany has escaped the worst of the crisis because of its people’s virtuous embracing of thriftiness and hard work; in contrast to the spendthrift southerners, who, like the fickle grasshopper, made no provision for when the winds of finance would turn cold and nasty. This mindset goes hand in hand with a moral righteousness which implants into good people’s hearts and minds a penchant for exacting punishment on the grasshoppers – even if punishing them also punishes themselves (to some extent).
BTW, Oregon is a deeply flawed state in many ways, but default vote by mail is the best thing ever. I can discuss issues, take my time, and still have a secret ballot.
Given that the post office visually records every single piece of mail (no, really http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3694589) the chance of fraud is inconceivable.
I was pissed off when ‘vote only by post’ was foisted on me for the Euro elections a few years back. As an option, sure. As my only choice, no thanks. Much easier to walk to the polling station down the road.
Also, there was a bullshit section on the form where you needed to get someone to witness that you were who you said you were.
I don’t think that word means what you think it means. (Sorry, couldn’t resist)
Postal voting is a step backwards in terms of fraud, because it undermines the secrecy of the ballot. There might be robust procedures in place to stop the vote being miscounted or altered once it’s in the system, but it allows ballots to be cast where they can be seen, and that opens the door to voter intimidation and the sale of votes. I can see there are circumstances where they are needed, but they’re not free of problems.
Every. Single. Envelope. Is photographed and retained. It is not a step backward, it is a step forward. There are tighter controls on the postal system in the US than any polling station.
Ever said to your employer, “i need four hours off to go stand in line to vote?”. cause that is what is required in many of the disenfranchised areas of the US. oh, and they are business hours, so you have to take time off. and if you are late on a project…?
vote by mail reduces fraud, encourages people to vote, is easier, and allows for more discussion of issues. oh, and it is still secret.
And it is awesome to be able to sit down with the voters pamphlet and just take time going over it all before inking in your vote.
Also it seriously increases voter turnout.
I didn’t disagree with postal voting. I just personally don’t like it, so I’d like the option. See also the UK election this year, when they didn’t send me my overseas ballot in time to get it back.
Apparently the time I mentioned when it was forced rather than an option (2004), led to some increases in voter fraud (and increased turnout, though).
Also note that UK voting is rarely more than one or two crosses in a box. Nothing like as complex as US voting pamphlets
In that sense, it’s great. If we could get a secure way to do that with normal ballots, that would be great too.
But what I’m saying is that before the vote goes into the system the controls are weaker, because we no longer have a guarantee of privacy for the voter. And that’s important, because this sort of thing can and has happened. Sure, we’re in the privileged position of being sure that our postal ballots won’t be confiscated and filled in by another member of our family, or be forced to be filled out in front of our employer or local thug, but not everybody is. No system’s perfect, unfortunately.
Another thing we should do in order to make voting easier would be to make polling days national holidays. Democracy is something worth celebrating.
Excellent points, and i should check my assumptions. There is likely a middle ground that is better than all mail or all polling place, especially depending on the history and climate of the location.
Also i have too many lawyer friends that, if an employer pressured me to vote one way, would gleefully skip down and serve them with a suit. But that is absolutely a first world privilege.
