Nov 4th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Macabre Thought of the Day
I’m a “vote on Election Day” kind of guy myself for sentimental reasons, though I think my official position is in favor of Oregon-style vote-by-mail, which has got me wondering a bit about this early voting business. What if you voted a week ago, then were run over by a car on Sunday — does you vote count on election day even if you’re dead?
42 Responses to “Macabre Thought of the Day”
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November 4th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Hawaii announced they will be counting Barack Obama’s grandmother’s absentee ballot, describing it as “a valid ballot”. I don’t know if it varies by state, but I’d imagine it wouldn’t matter.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:16 am
If you vote this morning and get run over this afternoon before the polls close does your vote count?
Of course it counts. Don’t be stupid.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Yes … case in point, Obama’s grandmother’s vote will count.
http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/11/will_marilyn_dunhams_vote_count
November 4th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Apparently so
November 4th, 2008 at 10:18 am
In most states, your vote is counted if you were alive when you turned the ballot in. Thus, for example, Obama’s grandmother’s vote will count because she voted early by mail before her death.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:19 am
There have been several reports of this so far this year. The one that got the most play was a 108 year old woman from Texas. Unfortunately I did not click through to see whether it will count or not but it should. Just as if you leave your polling place and get hit by a car, your vote still counts.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Yes. At least in Hawaii, where Madelyn Dunham’s postal vote will definitely be counted even though she died before election day.
As a practical matter, I think any attempt to pick out and disqualify otherwise-valid ballots of people who died after voting would introduce a whole lot of complexity and opportunities for fraud, in response to a very tiny problem. So Republicans would probably love to make it so …
November 4th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Opportunties for fraud? Try murder.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:30 am
We tend to tie so much thought to the day – election day. But it is really just the election that really counts. I live in Oregon, I vote by mail. I voted weekend before last – though I survived til today so far.
I do recall that I went to a polling place here in Oregon way back in the early 90’s when I first move here, but vote by mail just crept into how it is done – I do not even recall exactly how – it just seemed to happen. Its been this way for more than a decade.
My mother has voted using an absentee ballot, since she is elderly that works well – she just requests it no specific vetting is done. She lives in Wisonson. So they have a form of voting my mail there called absentee ballot.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:30 am
As it turns out, Zogby Interactive had a poll out a couple of weeks ago on this and Barack was up like 11 points with dead people.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:33 am
Opportunties for fraud? Try murder.
Damn, I dislike Republicans as much as the next guy around here, but even I don’t think they’re capable of killing enough people in cold blood to make a difference in the electoral math. If nothing else, do you think they could organize it well enough to get more Democrats than Republicans?
November 4th, 2008 at 10:35 am
What a dumb question. No offense.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:36 am
of course it counts! Obama’s grandmother’s vote for him will count. if it was cast by a living human, has to be counted, even if that person is dead by the time its counted.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:43 am
There are no such things as dumb questions. A lot of people didn’t know until yesterday that ballots cast by people who have died would count. Another fact I just learned is that people who have power-of-attorney for mentally ill people can register and cast absentee ballots for them.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Another Oregonian here – and since it sounds like you already have the answer to your question, I’ll just add that Oregon-style voting by mail is the greatest thing since sliced bread. If anybody ever paid any attention whatsoever to our humble little state (East coast bias!), it would already have been adopted nationwide, that’s how fantastic voting by mail is.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:46 am
I vote in WA, which is about 95% vote-by-mail. It’s SO easy, and it really increases turnout. And there’s no recorded history of any fraud. I really think this is the way all states should vote – it would even sidestep the debate on whether we should vote on a weekend.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:53 am
I really doubt local governments are going to keep obituary pages on file and try to match them with ballot returns.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:53 am
The AP had a story about it a month or so ago (can’t find the link ATM). The upshot was that official policies vary county-by-county and state-by-state, with a lot of places not having an official policy, but in practice they’re not going to be able to check ballots against death records.
November 4th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Yet another Oregonian here. It is very civilized, I have to say. My wife and I curled up in bed the other night, took our time and did it right. Then we voted!
November 4th, 2008 at 11:04 am
If brain dead voters didn’t count, the election would be closer to unanimous. But could I put in a plea for thinking before posting? I guess people love bloggers precisely because they don’t, but Matt could have looked up the answer in seconds. I admire his ability to frame political debates, so I keep reading, but if he had a third of his posts, this would be a lot more worth reading.
November 4th, 2008 at 11:06 am
What if you voted a week ago, then were run over by a car on Sunday — does you vote count on election day even if you’re dead?
Yes, but then you have to have your name posted on a right-wing hate site citing you as a dead person who’s voting, proof positive of wide-spread ACORN fraud.
November 4th, 2008 at 11:11 am
You failed to ask the obvious follow up question, what about if they return from the dead?
Wonder who will get the much vaulted zombie vote?
Obama because of his MORE BRAINS!?
November 4th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Another fact I just learned is that people who have power-of-attorney for mentally ill people can register and cast absentee ballots for them.
Good! Once we prove that you’d have to be crazy to vote for McCain, this should enable Democrats to vote on behalf of their Republican neighbors.
November 4th, 2008 at 11:21 am
My mom sent me this related story a few weeks ago. It’s very touching:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/beth-broderick/when-do-we-vote_b_136703.html
November 4th, 2008 at 11:25 am
I voted by absentee ballot the first day I was eligible. Waiting in line to deal with poll workers who may or may not know the rules only introduces needless complications to the process. I do miss getting the “I voted” stickers though. I put them on my dictionary like a fighter ace puts kills on his plane.
November 4th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Wonder who will get the much vaulted zombie vote?
You need to watch “Masters of Horror: Homecoming,” in which the soldiers who die in Iraq come back to life to vote Democrat…
November 4th, 2008 at 11:32 am
I have a couple of questions about Oregon’s vote-by-mail system:
1. How do people with no fixed mailing address vote? I realize the homeless are at risk for disenfranchisement with in-person voting as well, but it seems like once such a voter has been registered, they don’t depend on having an address.
2. How do you prevent vote-buying, voter coercion, or other forms of electoral tampering that are prevented by having a secret ballot?
November 4th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Of course they still count. Recall that back in 2000, John Ashcroft lost his senate seat to a dead man.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Carnahan
November 4th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
vote-by-mail and voting early diminishes the temptation by the incumbent to try to pull off a last minute trick. It also dilutes the increasing media frenzy. I think voting early is the best and most important move towards increasing voter participation to come along in a long time, and hopefully we will see correspondingly increased turnouts, and the corresponding increase in legitimacy of our elected officials.
Plus, I laugh at you saps who waited in line today, I voted 3 weeks ago and it look me less than 10 minutes.
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