[EL] ELB News and Commentary 5/10/17

[RuthAlice Anderson]

I wish every state had an voting system like Oregon. Of course, the reason Oregon has open and accessible voting is more likely due to it being a very white state than anything else. Voting restrictions are popular in states with many people of color and voting outreach reforms are more common in the whiter states. 

But just to show you how much Oregon does to help voters, not only are we automatically registered to vote, but we also provided a fabulous Voters’ Pamphlet where the candidates get to make their case. If there are endorsements listed, the endorsing person or organization signs a form that verifies that endorsement. No phony endorsements! If there are ballot measures, there is an explanation of the effects and the costs and opponents and proponents make their case. It’s mailed to all voters, I don’t have to look for it in the local paper. 

My ballot is mailed to me automatically. I can mail it back or drop it off at Elections, at any of the libraries, and in official drop boxes at some McDonalds, at hardware stores, movie theaters and car washes. All the locations are listed at Elections and in the voters pamphlet. 

When my ballot is mailed, I get an email telling me it’s been sent and to look for it. When I send it back, I get an email telling me it was received and confirming it will be counted. A couple elections back, I got an email saying my signature was smeared (I suppose the envelope got rained on in transit or something, it does rain here a lot) and that I would have to confirm my ballot. I was able to take care of that with a phone call. I attached screenshots so you can see what they are like. 

It just seems to me that if you believe in your political agenda, you should believe in it enough to compete for votes without stacking the deck by limiting voting rights. If you have to keep people from voting to win, to me it is an open admission that you do not believe you can win in an fair and honest election. Seriously, it turns that old maxim on its head exponentially, saying it’s better 200,000 innocent people are imprisoned rather than 1 guilty go free. 


RuthAlice Anderson



RuthAlice Anderson
ruthalice.anderson at icloud.com

we-resist.info <http://we-resist.info/>

tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com <http://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/>

singleservingrecipes.wordpress.com <http://singleservingrecipes.wordpress.com/>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20170510/14f98212/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Received.png
Type: image/png
Size: 201378 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20170510/14f98212/attachment.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Sent.png
Type: image/png
Size: 189580 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20170510/14f98212/attachment-0001.png>