[EL] Postage Question

Tue Nov 1 13:18:33 PDT 2016

John
Yep, the only minor thing I describe differently is that I use the word
“scan” or “image” rather than “counting.”

“Counting” means you are actually pressing a “tally” or “total” button that
takes the ballot images stored in the machine (even if op-scanned) and then
and only then produces a “report” that includes a sum of the votes cast.

It’s an important distinction to make with reporters, who once you use the
word “count” assume there is a total sitting there, like it’s on a computer
screen or something, that someone can just read off of a piece of paper.
You have to generate the report, and a record of that task is stored in the
machine's memory.

---
Paul Gronke
Professor, Reed College
Director, Early Voting Information Center
http://earlyvoting.net

General Inquiries: Laura Swann swannla at reed.edu

Media Inquiries: Kevin Myers myersk at reed.edu

Other email:  paul.gronke at reed.edu

On Nov 1, 2016, at 12:43 PM, John Farrell <jfarrell at mccandlishlawyers.com>
wrote:

Seriously, this has been figured out in most states.

The ballots are returned to the general registrar or the clerk of the local
government at the town/city hall or county courthouse (not the polling
place since most of those locations are temporary, i.e., a public school,
church, social hall, YMCA etc.).

The returned ballots are maintained in a locked room until processed.  Some
states allow the mailed-in ballots to be reviewed for completeness when
received.  Some states even allow the local election administrator to enter
them into the counting device immediately after they are received and check
for completeness. In those cases, the counting machine and the counted
ballots are kept in a secure room before election day.

In some states, the return envelope with the mailed-in ballots are sent to
the precinct of origin, checked in by the election officials in that
precinct and put through the counting machine on election day and reported
as part of the precinct return.

In others, the ballots are put through a counting machine in a central
absentee precinct; the results printed out after the regular polls close
and the results made know after the tally sheets are completed.

John W. Farrell
Attorney at Law

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On Nov 1, 2016, at 3:21 PM, Paul Gronke <paul.gronke at gmail.com> wrote:

Keith

Absolutely not.  I am not sure how many states actually allow this.

This creates a fairly serious hitch in the election administration workflow.

Just work through in your head what is being proposed: voters can drop off
absentee ballots at a polling place. Where do those ballots go?  Do we
maintain secure ballot drop boxes at every polling place?

Ok suppose we do that. Now, when do those envelopes (not ballots) get
processed?  When are signatures checked?  For states with voter intent
provisions, how are the ballots “remade”?

And finally, when are the ballot counted?

In California, over a million absentee ballots are dropped off at precinct
places on election day.  The California clerks have very good procedures
for dealing with these, but if you are going to allow this, you must also
be willing to wait for election results.  Most counties that I am aware of
don’t even begin to process those absentee ballots until they open for
business on Wednesday.

---
Paul Gronke
Professor, Reed College
Director, Early Voting Information Center
http://earlyvoting.net

General Inquiries: Laura Swann swannla at reed.edu

Media Inquiries: Kevin Myers myersk at reed.edu

Other email:  paul.gronke at reed.edu

On Nov 1, 2016, at 12:13 PM, Gaddie, Ronald K. <rkgaddie at ou.edu> wrote:

Understood. Does the ability to drop at any polling place in a state hold
across all states?

Ronald Keith Gaddie, Ph.D.
*President's Associates Presidential Professor*
Chair, Department of Political Science
Senior Fellow, Headington College
Associate Director, Center for Intelligence & National Security
General Editor, *Social Science Quarterly*
The University of Oklahoma

*p:* 405.325.2061*  | **e*: rkgaddie at ou.edu*  | t: *@GaddieWindage
<https://twitter.com/gaddiewindage>

------------------------------
*From:* Richard Winger <richardwinger at yahoo.com>
*Sent:* Tuesday, November 1, 2016 2:09 PM
*To:* Gaddie, Ronald K.; Election Law
*Subject:* Re: [EL] Postage Question

because the voter is free to drop it off at any polling place or voting
center on election day.  The postage is not a requirement for returning the
voted ballot.

Richard Winger 415-922-9779 PO Box 470296, San Francisco Ca 94147

------------------------------
*From:* "Gaddie, Ronald K." <rkgaddie at ou.edu>
*To:* Election Law <Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu>
*Sent:* Tuesday, November 1, 2016 11:19 AM
*Subject:* [EL] Postage Question

Query: A former student, who is a lawyer and a Ph.D. candidate, wrote and
asks "how is paying postage on an absentee ballot not a poll tax?"

Any knowledgable answers are greatly appreciated.

Ronald Keith Gaddie, Ph.D.
*President's Associates Presidential Professor*
Chair, Department of Political Science
Senior Fellow, Headington College
Associate Director, Center for Intelligence & National Security
General Editor, *Social Science Quarterly*
The University of Oklahoma

*p:* 405.325.2061*  | **e*: rkgaddie at ou.edu*  | t: *@GaddieWindage
<https://twitter.com/gaddiewindage>

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