this post was submitted on 06 Oct 2024

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Update: Nothing illegal here. Virginia reused envelopes from last year. (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

122 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Let’s hope that mostly low information repube voters fall for this ballot tampering

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[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 week ago

So this is what a modern day "hanging chad" looks like. They're really drawing on every previous election to insure there can be fraud claims.

America is going to have a rough one, no outcome will see legitimate - which is great for Putin regardless of whether he's involved or not.

[–] [email protected] 176 points 1 week ago

Don't just call the election office, call the local news, get it trending.

[–] [email protected] 60 points 1 week ago (14 children)

Can someone explain this to a non US person please? You sign your votes?

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (6 children)

You sign the envelope that contains the ballot. That way, an election worker can compare the signature on the envelope to your signature on file.

This is how they make sure that someone didn't steal the ballot from your mailbox and fill it out for you.

Once the signature is verified, the envelope is opened and the anonymous ballot inside is removed and stored with all the others. When they are counted, there will be no way to tell who filled out each ballot.

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 week ago

I've always had to sign my vote by mail ballot envelope in CA. They keep a signature on file from when you last registered to absentee (not vote at your polling place) vote and compare the two to see if someone else is trying to vote in your name.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 week ago

In order for a mail in ballot to be valid, the person must sign the envelope.

[–] [email protected] 68 points 1 week ago (1 children)

For mail-ins, yeah, you sign it to do the final "I authorize this document to be my vote".

If you don't authorize it, it's not legally your vote.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 week ago (1 children)

NY requires you to also sign the registration book when you vote in person.

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/ELN/8-304

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 week ago (2 children)

There's a difference, signing the book is done before you vote in person in ny, and is not associated with your ballot or who you voted for. So in person there's no way to know who you voted for.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 week ago (1 children)

For mail in balloting at least in my state you sign the return envelope NOT the ballot itself.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 week ago

In Illinois they give you two, well 3 technically. The one everything comes in, the one you put the ballot in, and the one you put the ballot envelope in. So the signature is not on the outside or on the ballot itself.

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[–] [email protected] 199 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (6 children)

A lot of the virginia ballots were mailed out with the return envelopes already sealed up. I called the election office and they said to cut them open and just seal them back with tape 🤣

Edit: to all the folks concerned about my vote, thank you for your concern. I'm not too worried about it for several reasons. You can check online to see when your ballot is received and accepted, so I'll be doing that. If it isn't accepted in the next week or so I'll definitely be making some calls. Worse comes to worse, I can always go to my polling place on the day and get a provisional ballot in case something happens to my mail-in. I live in a pretty blue area so I have some trust in the local offices here; they've given no reason for me to be suspicious. Nonetheless I'll still be double checking.

[–] [email protected] 121 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This can happen if the envelopes get damp, but they should send you a replacement. Otherwise, someone could swap out your ballot and then just tape it closed.

[–] [email protected] 72 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (4 children)

Which is exactly why I called my local election office, and I even mentioned it might have been because of the rain we were having, but I was told no, it wasnt the damp that caused it because they had confirmed with the factory that sent the ballots out that some had been sent out like that. They then told me to tape it and when I was hesitant because I had the same thought as you they told me they had checked several times with the registrar that taping them up was what to do. They said it was a known issue so it would be accepted.

[–] [email protected] 57 points 1 week ago (10 children)

holy shit they are going to steal your election

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Same thing happened to me in Pennsylvania. Will be watching very carefully on the ballot status emails to make sure it's still accepted.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The question of course being: what will you do or can you do if it's not accepted? How far will someone go to make their vote count? Many people would likely not bother with it, which could make this a quite succesful way of sabotaging.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago

You usually have to go to a county office in PA. They may try to contact you if it’s early enough

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[–] [email protected] 379 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This is a felony, and can likely be traced back to the election helper who did it.
Report it!

[–] [email protected] 266 points 1 week ago (3 children)

My friend is reporting it.

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