this post was submitted on 06 Oct 2024
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EDIT: See @AnimePhantasm comment below! My friend called the election board and they confirmed what @AnimePhantasm and @fmstrat commented! This was Virginia reusing last year’s envelopes.

OP I am an absentee voter in Blacksburg just next door. Shine a light on the blacked out part. I am 99% sure this is legit, they just crossed out the witness requirement. I can see the word witness under the sharpie in your picture. Virgina doesnt have to do that witness thing anymore. We did at the last general election, so I am guessing they just reused the same envelopes. You should call and ask your elections office before alerting the news. They are hardworking folks whose jobs are already 100 times harder then they used to be. Stirring up reports of election fraud where it isn't happening makes us just as bad as them.

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[–] ObsidianZed@lemmy.world 57 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (7 children)

This brought up a concern of mine that I had last year. I tried looking but couldn't find it. Is there a way to verify that my vote was counted and specifically counted for whom I voted?

Edit: To clarify, my state does have voter history but only what elections I vote in, not how I voted.

Worst case scenario, someone intercepts my ballot and/or changes my vote. Website says "yep, you voted." Great, but I want to know it was counted correctly.

Ultimately our whole voting system needs an overhaul, but I doubt that'll happen anytime soon.

[–] otterpop@lemmy.world 29 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I don't believe there is, and if there was, it could be used for some really nefarious purposes!

[–] HappyTimeHarry@lemm.ee 25 points 1 month ago (1 children)

in my state (OR) you can sign up for an email that says when your ballot was counted but not who you voted for.

[–] leds@feddit.dk 20 points 1 month ago

Yeah there is a good reason for that to be secret: it prevents buying votes because you can't prove who you votes for, if someone offers you money to vote a certain way you can always take the money and vote the other way, no way to prove how you voted.

[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)

TBH idgaf who knows my vote history, I want the peace of mind that it was counted correctly.

[–] boydster@sh.itjust.works 19 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I totally hear that, but at the same time it's really important for a functioning democracy that the vote be secret. For one, it empowers a suppressed class to vote against their suppressor's interests without fear of retaliation.

[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

There is already a record of who voted for what, all of your fears could be taking place as things are now. Making it accessible to the person, even with hoops to jump through, would only be an improvement.

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

No, there's not. There's a record of who voted. There is a record of your political party in most states. There is no record of who you actually voted for.

[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

The majority of votes in the USA are electronically counted, and a ballot itself is a record of a vote as well. What there isn't is a searchable index of who voted for what, and I apologize for my unclear language.

But the likelihood of oppression based on availability of those vote records is still very much there even if the voter themself doesn't have access.

[–] GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Back to school. Vote-buying breaks democracy. Not having proof of who you voted for makes vote-buying pointless. Yes, your vote could be miscounted. This is generally less of a problem than the general population being able to sell their votes and can be mitigated in a variety of ways which don't tie votes to voters.

[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

You can still buy votes with absentee ballots, are you opposed to that as well?

[–] GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

What's to stop me from filling it out the way I said I would, going to the voting office and saying the ballot I had previously was lost/damaged/spoiled and then voting differently than how I was paid to vote?

The premise behind a secret ballot is it can't be proven how you vote. You can still sell your vote (illegally), you just can't prove you voted the way you said you would. As shown above, absentee ballots don't remove that distinction. I suppose the criminals could just trust each other...

[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

If you submit multiple ballots its voter fraud. If your buyer drops off your ballot on election day then there is nothing you can do to stop it that you couldn't do in the other circumstance.

[–] GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

This topic has been discussed for a couple thousand years now, and you clearly have access to the internet. Feel free to search for the answers on your own.

[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

You clearly need to read more theory.

[–] GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Well, all you've said is that you think it should be verifiable. What reasons do you have to support your argument? If you've read the theory, you should be able to point me in the right direction or give me an answer.

[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago

I was mocking you.

[–] Cryophilia@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Now THAT is some privilege lol

Plenty of places in the US where you risk personal danger if people know how you voted.

[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago

Then those individuals shouldn't share how they voted, but I want the freedom to see how my vote was counted.

[–] boydster@sh.itjust.works 0 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world -1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

And they have the right to conceal their vote, as they should, but why should I not have the right to reveal mine even to myself, Necromancer?

[–] boydster@sh.itjust.works 0 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

That's not how this started, moving the goalposts is pretty cheap. I was literally linking to an issue happening in this vary election that illustrates why secret ballots are so important. A position which, if you recall, you began by stating was invalid because you misunderstand (or, now more clearly, willfully misrepresent) how democracy in the US works, and your proposed "solution" only helps illustrate the easy ways vote buying and manipulation would be introduced without secret ballots. I'll block you, for obvious reasons. Good luck

There is already a record of who voted for what, all of your fears could be taking place as things are now. Making it accessible to the person, even with hoops to jump through, would only be an improvement.

Edit: additional context for added relevance

[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Good luck loser

[–] just2look@lemm.ee 20 points 1 month ago

I don’t know if all states have it, but Virginia does have vote history on their voter registration page. It doesn’t show what your vote was, but does show that it was received and counted.

[–] Simulation6@sopuli.xyz 13 points 1 month ago

Maryland sent me an email last time that my vote had been counted, but not for who.

[–] IphtashuFitz@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

If you mailed in a ballot then there should be a way to confirm it was received, but there should NOT be a way to see who you voted for. Just like they can confirm that you voted in person, but again can not tell who you voted for when you showed up to vote.

Typically when you vote by mail you receive a ballot plus two envelopes. You fill out the ballot and put it in the inner envelope that should contain no markings as to whose ballot it belongs to. This is put inside the second envelope that should have your contact information (my state uses a barcode for this) and that you have to sign.

When the city/town clerk receives the ballot they look up your voter registration & confirm the signature on file matches the signature on the envelope. They then check off in their records that you voted by mail on that day. They take the inner envelope out of the outer envelope and add it to the other pile of envelopes they’ve received. At some later point they open those envelopes and count the ballots, but have no way of associating a given ballot back with the person who mailed it in.

If you then try to go vote in person on Election Day (or somebody tries to impersonate you) then their records will show you already voted and you won’t be allowed to vote again.

[–] ZoopZeZoop@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

My county in Florida allows you to show your vote was counted. Damned if I don't check every single time.

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Florida here. How is it done?

[–] ZoopZeZoop@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Multiple counties have different ways, but here is a couple:

[–] SmoothLiquidation@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

My county in Washington state has a website where you can check the status. I even get text or email notifications for the status. “We received your ballot”, “the signature was verified”, “your vote has been counted”.

There was even a problem with my signature once and all I had to do was log in and verify it and it was counted.

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 month ago

My California county sends me a text and email.