October 27, 2004

We Don't Like These Very Much

Use Official Avenues To Vote, Please

unofficial_ballot_box-thumb.jpg

You may be seeing these around town. Big clear letters up top instructing you to drop your ballots into the box. Down below, in this case partly obscured by the lock and chain, is the small print, informing you that it's not an official ballot box, but one maintained by an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization in no way affiliated with the official elections process.

Now, by posting this, we don't mean to impugn the reputations or motivations either of any organization providing these boxes, or of any business hosting them. But this practice, for us, establishes a rather nasty precedent. Providing entirely unofficial ballot boxes seems to us to come with the ripe potential for theft and fraud.

Look, we almost couldn't make it any easier to vote in Oregon. We're a vote-by-mail state, for crying out loud. Drop your ballot in a mailbox and be done with it. Or, if it's too late to do so, use one of the many official drop sites provided by the actual elections people.

Posted at 02:13 PM | PermalinkComments (6) | TrackBacks (1)
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Comments (6)

  1. Mikey on 27 Oct 2004

    Unrelated note: the one post on front page is KILLING me!

  2. LC on 28 Oct 2004

    Imagine how easy it would be for someone (maybe a terrorist intent on a reprise of the 2000 post-election chaos) to drop off VBM envelopes with small fire triggering devices into these receptacles (and the official ones).

    Wipe out 15k Portland votes and it could easily swing the state for Bush. In a tight electoral college race, it could swing the whole election. Then we have four more years of a divided country questioning the legitimacy of the President.

    It just occcurred to me that I care less about who wins this time than I do about getting a definitive winner.

  3. CBB on 28 Oct 2004

    Any chance you'll go back to the old format of more than one post on the home page? Made for less clicking and easier reading.

  4. tomwsmf on 28 Oct 2004

    I noticed this over at the Ash St Stumptown and was a bit miffed it was there right on the counter. It semmed a very very misguided thing to be doing. Is there any legal issue to having these things up? It would be a damn shame if this crap ruins one of the best methods of vote casting I have ever had the pleasure to be a part of.

    I mean come on now, is walkng over to the central library going to be that much of an effort? Your latte will be back at the hip spot of choice when you get back.

    -tom

  5. The One True b!X on 28 Oct 2004

    Any chance you'll go back to the old format of more than one post on the home page?

    Yes.

  6. Marcello on 29 Oct 2004

    While unofficial ballot boxes are a questionable idea, I don't see why we couldn't have official ballot boxes in bookstores, coffee shops and high schools for future elections.

Trackbacks (1)

  1. Is November 3rd Here Yet? on 30 Oct 2004

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