Already Questionable Election Practices!
@whiteheather39 (24403)
United States
October 20, 2010 9:30am CST
Are we ever going to have an honest election? I think this is really shameful!
Illinois Soldiers Wait for Ballots. Prisoners Get Hand Delivery.
Over 35 counties in Illinois missed the deadline to mail military ballots to our soldiers defending America. But in Chicago, county election officials have taken special steps to ensure that no inmates at the Cook County Jail are unable to cast a ballot.
The Chicago Board of Elections hand delivers ballots to the jail. They don’t even wait for the inmates to apply – they bring the applications with the ballots! Over 2,600 inmates have cast ballots so far – strikingly similar to the 2,600 soldiers who will likely not receive a ballot for the Nov 2 election.
Disgraceful does not begin to describe the Illinois Election
http://visiontoamerica.org/story/illinois-soldiers-wait-for-ballots-prisoners-get-hand-delivery.html
I thought felons were not allowed to vote while still incarcerated??? According to this article they cannot: There are 50 different states and 50 different election laws, which is the major cause of the confusion. Most of them, including Illinois, ban felons from voting only while they are incarcerated. http://www.pjstar.com/opinions/x1929475549/Adams-For-the-record-felons-can-vote
What is your opinion?
3 people like this
8 responses
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
21 Oct 10
Tnt right they shouldnt back in the 60s people non parole couldnt vote so what has changed?
I alwas thought and heard you go to jail for 11mo 99 days or prison you lost your right to vote this is very illeagle I would think smae on these people doing this and souldiers should have got thiers first!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1 person likes this
@djbtol (5493)
• United States
20 Oct 10
In my opinion, the deadline for the military ballots is meaningless. The ballots are too important to not send, so they need to be sent, even if a few days late. They may need to even rush the shipment. If the ballots cannot get to the soldiers, then maybe it is time to assign responsibility for the screw-up
Should felons be allowed to vote? No, in my opinion, anyone who will be incarcerated on election day should not be allowed to vote.
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
21 Oct 10
...."Should felons be allowed to vote? No, in my opinion, anyone who will be incarcerated on election day should not be allowed to vote." I totally agree with you!
1 person likes this
@bobmnu (8157)
• United States
21 Oct 10
This is nothing new. In the 2004 election many states refused to accept the Military Postal Service Post Mark and discarded any Ballot that did not have the proper USPS. One report said as many as 16,000 solders were denied the right to have their vote counted. This year there have already been reports on New York State not being able to send out 300,000 military ballots and now Illinois is not sending out the ballots to the military. In a year that Republicans are supposed to make gains in the election two strong Democrat states find it necessary to exclude the military (Majority vote Republican) from voting.
Instead of investigating the TEA Party for voter intimation maybe the Justice Department should investigate the problems with the military ballots situation. It is a crime that those who defend our rights with their lives should be denied one of those basic rights because it is too difficult. If they can't do the job FIRE the BUMS and find some one who can do the job.
@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
20 Oct 10
You have to consider the underlying wisdom of this - prison inmates overwhelmingly vote Democratic while military members are more likely to vote Republican. So, if you were from Obama's home state, to whom would you send ballots this November?
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
20 Oct 10
Oh I see now! That makes sense. I never thought of it that way. Thanks
1 person likes this
@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
21 Oct 10
You'd have to show me a law that disproves the fact that military votes trend about 85% Republican and votes from prisons (you can decide which of the inmates get to vote or not, that isn't applicable here) trend heavily Democratic. Sorry, it's simply true. They are trying to prevent as many military votes from counting as possible.
@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
21 Oct 10
1Mad, there's really no denying the facts. Prison populations and even ex-felons trend Democratic 65-90% of the time according to this article in the WaPo:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9785-2004Aug17.html
You can continue to say I speak from ignorance and don't know anything and it still won't change the fact that members of the military tend to vote Republican more than Democrat and that the opposite is true amongst convicted felons, parolees and ex-felons.
@quita88 (3715)
• United States
21 Oct 10
I see a lot of responses here about convicts/felons/... Why not OUR soldiers !??
What is most corrupt in my mind is the fact that our own soldiers wait for ballots !! And, yet those who have corrupted themselves and our America are hand delivered their ballots to vote !!!!!!!!!!!
This is WHAT is wrong with out country now !!
The prisoners should not be allowed to vote in my book regardless of state. If they took the law into their own hands, regardless of the severity, they should not be allowed to vote!!!
This really riles me! My husband is a Viet Nam Vet and he too would stand up and holler, let our soldiers vote and forget the prisoners who have robbed, raped, murdered and embezzled and have taken the source of life to it's extremes with their own stupidity !
Our soldiers deserve to vote first !!!!!!!!!!!!! Let me yell from the roof tops !!!
quita
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
21 Oct 10
quita that is exactly the point I was trying to make. Our military definitely deserves to vote first and I will join you yelling it from the roof tops!
1 person likes this
@quita88 (3715)
• United States
21 Oct 10
Great WHITEHEATHER !!!!!!! We stand together , UNITED !! And we shall yell it from the roof tops that American Soldiers should always be given the vote BEFORE a prisoner does..
God Bless you !!
hugs ,quita
@quita88 (3715)
• United States
21 Oct 10
MADMOTHER: First of all,my rights to vote as a woman have not been rescinded.....this topic of discussion takes in prisoners vs. soldiers best I can tell.
I hope you are NOT comparing me to a hardened criminal.... I am not..
but, let's first consider my feelings as the wife of a US Veteran.
I WOULD AT ANY GIVEN TIME, GIVE UP MY RIGHT TO VOTE TO ANY SOLDIER! These men live and die for us, you and me......they most times live in fear and in squalor. My husband has several bullet holes in his body due to fighting for our UNITED STATES....also ask me about the night mares my husband has and how he still fights in the night time and his nerves are shot.
Also think about our soldiers of today.......they come home with 100% MOL of PTSD effects than any soldier our nation has ever seen.. They have not broken any laws nor are they in prison. They fight for us!
Give our boys/soldiers a break and let them speak ! Give them the vote first before a prisoner for crying out loud!!!
Why on God's green earth do YOU think YOU are living FREE????
I have not seen it with my own eyes, but it's my understanding that prisoners live in a fair high amount of luxury.
Do not call me hasty in my thoughts and voting privileges...
I have a right to speak, to type, to vote........I have not thrown that right away by doing something illegal. I have always obeyed the law to the highest!
Do reconsider yourself the fact that YOU are free now and have the right to vote as I do.
I am allowed , even by mylot standards to say and do as I please...within certain parameters !
IT'S WITH HIGH HOPES OUR SOLDIERS GET TO VOTE LONG BEFORE A PRISONER DOES !!!!!!!!!!
Peace be with you !
@GardenGerty (169439)
• United States
20 Oct 10
People in jail are not necessarily felons.It depends on the severity of the conviction. That begs the question, though. The military should be a priority in every state and Illinois needs to figure out a way to fix this horrible Injustice. Either that or hold the results of the election until those soldiers have been given their constitutional right to vote.
