Action | Material omissions from absentee ballots. |
Stage | Final |
Comment Period | Ended on 10/12/2011 |
I believe this to be a poorly written document, and one that is mis-guided... and attempts to cite minor nuances as the basis for disenfranchisement. Why must I use my full middle name instead of my middle initial, if this is my normal convention?... Why is my failure to include a missing zip code a valid justification for disqulification, if all of the remainder of the address is complete? etc, etc etc . Although I share in the desire to identify and not count fraudulent ballots... ease of verification for the benefit of the ballot counter should not the the ultimate goal for any new guideline. If the final guidelines do include such minutia as a basis for culling out "questionable" ballots... then perhaps the outer envelop should also provide for a telephone number to contact the idividual, so that the board can notified the individiual that his/her ballot is in question so that the individual would have the opportunity to attest to the validity of its ballot before it is discarded, and the individual is disenfranchised for no good reason.