Privacy and Voter Fraud

Rarely do I venture into this kind of forum and actually start something. It usually just isn't worth the headache that comes along with the political games and the people that play them. Something struck me this morning though, so here I am with my thought.

I will only speak for America because this is where I'm from and what I know. It is no secret around here that the setup for voting is basically flawed in so many areas that it has pretty much gone beyond the point of being ridiculous. To many holes and back doors that essentially leave it wide open to be rigged for the wanted outcome by whomever has the final predetermined outcome. If it doesn't get it the first time, they recount until it does and point fingers all the while.

Now before I put my thought out here,let me make it perfectly clear that I understand just how important the original fundamentals of voting is. Let me also say I am a 57 year old American that has rarely voted. One reason being I refuse to vote for a lesser evil, and the other is basically because of all the fraud. You could almost say I have reach a state of apathy about it and that is sad.

I know that over different points in time, many have fought for the right to vote and fortunately their efforts paid off. Sadly those honors of effort to have the right to do something so important have reached a point of almost pitiful with the fraud that is now gotten away with.

I did not come here to just moan about this. I'd like to think I have a pretty simple solution, or at least the basis of one. Make our votes public.

I realize we have the sanctity of keeping our votes private, but i also think this " privacy " is one of the things that have opened the door to so many shenanigans.

These days with the internet the way it is anyway, it usually isn't to hard to figure out who your friends are voting for. I know I get inundated with their points of view so much I have to shut them down till after the elections are over. I'm guessing I'm not the only one either.

I know I would vote more often if I knew all could be seen to keep it honest. If people are so open about it anyway, why wouldn't you be proud to publicly cast your vote for your favorite politician?

So, for me yes, that is one privacy I would give up if it meant keeping it all above board. Would you?

a reply to: onehuman
There are two reasons why the nineteenth century decided to invent secret ballots.
1) Bribery
2) Intimidation

I realize we have the sanctity of keeping our votes private, but i also think this " privacy " is one of the things that have opened the door to so many shenanigans.

Here is the question people should be pondering. Have our votes ever been 'private'.

We have the NSA, we now have politicians themselves data mining our entire lives from medical records, to motor vehicle records to financial records.

We now have smart appliances,smart meters, smart phones, smart cars back doors are everywhere.

There are epic privacy violations around us, and that would extend to the voting booth.

Funny thing here is I remember the last season on the 'Good Wife' where Alisha lost her bid because of FRAUD from her own party.

Is that art imitating life or life imitating tv?

a reply to: onehuman

"If voting really made any difference, it would be illegal" P. Berrigan

a reply to: onehuman

I agree with onehuman, having your vote made public would usher in bribery and intimidation. Electronic ballots can also be hacked. The whole system can be rigged in one way or another.

originally posted by: WeRpeons
a reply to: onehuman

I agree with onehuman, having your vote made public would usher in bribery and intimidation. Electronic ballots can also be hacked. The whole system can be rigged in one way or another.

I have long called for an international oversight of the voting in the US.

Electronic voting is the surest way to insure that the people have no say and that fraud and the powers that be dominate the US political landscape.

The best system is paper ballots that can be run through a scantron with the paper ballots required to be saved as long as the person elected is in office.

The myth of voter ID as racism is a direct result of those who want fraud in the system.
ALL other countries who have legitimate voting require some kind of ID to vote.
It is only the idiots in the US who have been convinced in the name of "equality" and fear of racism that allow anyone to vote at all without any ID of any kind. That means someone can go from ballot place to ballot place claiming to be different people and vote as often as they want. Also, all illegals can vote and people from other countries can vote by just claiming to be citizens without an ID.
We are total idiots to allow this and be defrauded by those who want to control us.

There are alternative methods of voting that don't involve fraudulent ballots.
I hope it doesn't come to that.

originally posted by: olaru12
a reply to: onehuman

"If voting really made any difference, it would be illegal" P. Berrigan

I gotta say, those 10 words, pretty much sew up this thread for me.

a reply to: onehuman

I am 44 and I have also grown apathetic and disenfranchised.

I also agree who the poster who said it is a myth that voter ID laws are inherently racist. We all received one free copy of our birth certificate. Plus, if secure elections and racism were really an issue to the agencies, people, and offices with oversight, then we would have free ID cards that we could obtain at the DMV WHILE ALSO REGISTERING TO VOTE IN PERSON.

Instead we get excuses, racebaiting, and a trend towards mail-in, online, and otherwise unsecure voter registration and election practices.

I've done enough research on our election systems to believe that Florida's and Ohio's systems were seized under the guise of 'election reform' after the 2000 and 2004 elections.

So, I refuse to vote now out of protest. I won't give them my vote to defile and I won't be an accessory to the election of a candidate from either corrupt major party. I've moved completely away from partisan politics and more or less spend my political enthusiasm on trying to predict what the two parties have in store for us next.

a reply to: onehuman

You can have it both ways. Give a person a random number when they go vote, match that random number to the vote cast. Post the votes with the random numbers in public. Each person can then account for their own vote and make sure it's recorded correctly, and people who are good at data analysis can ensure the election is legit.

originally posted by: Aazadan
a reply to: onehuman

You can have it both ways. Give a person a random number when they go vote, match that random number to the vote cast. Post the votes with the random numbers in public. Each person can then account for their own vote and make sure it's recorded correctly, and people who are good at data analysis can ensure the election is legit.

I think a system like this is a great idea.

[Edit: Of course, there would have to be some oversight to ensure all the numbers actually belong to someone who voted, too. But still a great line of thinking.]

originally posted by: MotherMayEye
[Edit: Of course, there would have to be some oversight to ensure all the numbers actually belong to someone who voted, too. But still a great line of thinking.]

You already have that. You can compare the number of random numbers given out, to the number of people who physically showed up. Just increase a counter by one each time a number is handed out. If a whole bunch of extra numbers are in the system you know something funny is going on.

When we vote here in Oklahoma, the electronic ballots are filled out by yourself then fed into a machine that counts them. After it is counted. The machine spits out a recite for the voter that shows them exactly was input into the machine. The voter can be sure their vote was counted for the persons they voted for.

As far as voter ID as being disenfranchised that is all a bunch of BS. Every person in the US has at least two forms of ID they have birth certificates, SS numbers. As well as driver license, or state approved ID. Then the folks that are military or reserves have military ID's. Stupid politicians that say showing an ID is against some law or rule are just trying to cause a disruption in the system to skew the vote one way or another.

Every vote does count. If we had a popular vote. But what I believe is wrong is the Electorial College. But I understand the need for it as well.