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[–]wendolynne 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Thanks for the link - which I would call "watching the sausage being made." The poll workers don't get a much of a dress rehearsal, and they don't always get clear instructions, or understand them even if they seem clear. And they might not be good with crowds, if one shows up. A lot of this is unfortunate, and we have to do the best we can with what we have got. throwing out a whole precinct's votes because of one confused poll worker would be not at all fair to the people who voted in good faith.

Leads changing as the ballots are counted is very typical. I've seen it so many times, where my candidate takes an early lead and later ends up losing. The explanation: ballots coming from big cities with efficient counting systems often post their results first, while the rural votes take longer to tabulate. That's just the way these things go. Similarly with mail-in ballots compared to in-person voting. So those stories are not at all convincing to me, since I have been on the other side so many times.

I can't claim to have studied the rules of every state, but I would expect as standard procedure, there would be ways of verifying that ballots are not counterfeit, that the voters casting the ballots are registered, and registered voters are legal to vote, in every state, county, and precinct. That would be standard procedure, although each jurisdiction is free to make its own rules. I find it hard to believe that fraudulent voting on the scale to change the outcome could have occurred.

[–]Zapped 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I appreciate you sharing your experiences and views. I think you're right that things will get better after this when verifying votes (and the voters). And I agree that the poll workers are generally selfless individuals who seem to do it out of duty instead of the very little pay they get. I've only seen one that let her political opinion known.