Absentee Ballot in Florida (Pasco County)

Hey all,

In case you've been following along, here's this evening's update:

I've been in contact with Democrats Abroad and after a bit of back-and-forth, was told to contact my election office regarding the Congressional seat. I've done so and this was the response (in full) that I received:

[Mr. Corley stated, “We are going to re-visit this issue with the Florida Department of State in early 2021 and should have updated information for you well in advance of the 2022 election cycle.”]

I've now emailed DA again to see if there's anything further to be done, but it doesn't look likely. The whole thing feels very suspect to me. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like it will be solvable in this election cycle.

Any advice?

Possibly contact the state attorney general office?

Hey all,

In case you've been following along, here's this evening's update:

I've been in contact with Democrats Abroad and after a bit of back-and-forth, was told to contact my election office regarding the Congressional seat. I've done so and this was the response (in full) that I received:

[Mr. Corley stated, “We are going to re-visit this issue with the Florida Department of State in early 2021 and should have updated information for you well in advance of the 2022 election cycle.”]

I've now emailed DA again to see if there's anything further to be done, but it doesn't look likely. The whole thing feels very suspect to me. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like it will be solvable in this election cycle.

Any advice?

Take it to the media?

Take it to the media?

Good idea, Nan.

Here’s a Washington Post article that might be of interest: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/10/10/pandemic-2020-overseas-voting-election-ballots/

You might also contact this reporter. I imagine they would be interested. I’d also contact the Florida papers. And some of the political blogs that like to dig into stuff.

And that is an odd response from that county to look at something after the fact in 2021. Very shady. Forwarding the email you received with that lazy, if not dodgy response makes it very easy for that reporter to do some digging. I’d also contact the campaigns of those running in that election. Or at least the campaign of the person you want to vote for.

There was another article about incorrect ballots being mailed to voters in another state. I can’t recall the state though. It was not Florida. Possibly New Jersey. And the elections office in that state caught and admitted the error and is resending the proper ballots. I think it was in another Wash Po article.

I shudder to think what is going to be unearthed on November 4th. I am having flashbacks of the “hanging chads” in 2000.

Happy Monday, Everyone

Another (final?) update...

After slightly pestering the person I was in touch with at DA, the issue was escalated and passed up the chain. A new person, as well as someone from Vote From Abroad, did some investigation, contacted a lawyer, and got a result! I was sent a new federal ballot that included both the Presidential Race and the Congressional Race. I haven't contacted any news/media outlets, but I do wonder how widespread this issue is. I'm fairly certain that the county elections office had no to little intent of rectifying the situation, as they seemed to use quite a bit of grey language and never clearly answered my queries. I hope the push from the DA (who also contacted the DNC and the Florida Democratic Party Voter Protection team) and Vote From Abroad was enough to highlight the issue at a wider level and to make sure that Pasco County, as well as the State of Florida, are following through.

Thank you to everyone for the responses and the suggestions. It's fantastic that we have this resource to help out in these odd situations! I would strongly encourage anyone else, who is experiencing voting and/or ballot issues, to get in touch with their Supervisor of Elections as well as the DA and VFA. Don't let these irregularities, whether intentional or accidental, slide. Voting will only ever remain a RIGHT if we, collectively, demand it.

SL

Well done, just as well you were persistent.

The latest method of rejecting mail-in ballots is to say that the signature on the ballot does not match that on the registration card.

I have a friend in Illinois who recently went in person to early vote and had a heck of a job getting his vote registered. Here is what he told me.
"We voted early voting at the courthouse. Once again, the poll workers cross checked my signature to my voting card that I signed in the 1970's. The poll workers didn't like that my current signature doesn't match my 1970's signature. They asked for photo ID. And the worker said " Your signature on your drivers license doesn't match the voter record either". And I said "But my photo ID matches my face with my name per your records and my current signature matches my ID." They finally let me vote."

Various article in the news media about this.


https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/10/07/upshot/mail-voting-ballots-signature-matching.html

More than half of states rely on signature matching to verify the identities of people who vote by mail. These states compare signatures they have on file (from voter registrations, ballot applications or the D.M.V.) with the ones voters put on their ballot envelopes.

But the practice is not implemented consistently across states, or even within them. The New York Times reached out to officials in every state that conducts matching to ask about their procedures. Most leave decisions to local officials or provide minimal instructions.