Why vote in person?

 

Mail in ballots seem to be the rage these days.  Such convenience!  Such efficiency?

It baffles me how naïve the public appears to be in this area. 

First of all it is impossible to have an anonymous submission of a ballot by mail.

Second, even if the secret ballot is sacrificed, there are still too many ways to commit fraud in the process.

But let's ask this question.  Why?  Why do we want a secret ballot?

Imagine a corrupt local government that is hiring goons to go ruff up anybody that doesn't support their power.  Would you vote your conscience if they could find out how you voted?  Probably not.

Voting in person at the precinct level all at one time really cuts down the opportunity for a central power to manipulate the vote, especially if the votes are counted at the precinct level and in public all at the same time.

Remember how the Bush-Gore election count was held up for months while people debated how to count chads on a computer punch card?  Technology doesn't really solve the basic problem.  What is needed is local people that care enough to participate, not just to vote but to help monitor the voting and counting of those votes.  If we can't find enough people to do that, then they clearly don't care about their own freedoms and the election should be canceled in that precinct.

Why is it so important for people to be able to vote absentee?  What value does that put on your vote?  What value does it put on voting?  What value does it put on our freedoms?  There are other ways to get shut-ins or the handicapped to be able to vote - it's called a limited power of attorney.

This year, if you have already voted absentee, just think of it like placing your ballot at the polls into a self-addressed stamped envelope before inserting your ballot into the box.  Let's hope we don't need a secret ballot in the future to stop a truly tyrannical government.

Vote in person, or don't vote at all.