Tuesday, September 01, 2026

Blitzen trying to catch a frog on the other side of the window

Today my state's Elections Commission assured municipal clerks that the Executive Order, dictating USPS restrict which absentee ballots are sent out, is to be ignored for the upcoming November election.  Finally!   By state law, some absentee ballots are due to be sent out this week.   This Executive order was signed in March and the question of it's legality is still percolating through the judicial system.   

The Feds are pushing for the order to be in place for the Novemmber election.  A central Federal portal for each state to upload voter lists doesn't exist.  The USPS software to check outgoing ballot information against the (non-existant)  state voter lists is written but hasn't been tested.  The Executive Order calls for unique bar-codes on the outside envelopes of out-going ballots.  Those envelopes haven't been created.  Training for USPS personnel and municipality clerks on how the system will work and what to do if there are issues hasn't been written.  Trying to get all of that done within the next two months is idiotic.  In fact, there ought to be a moritorium on any election rule changes for six months before a presidential or mid-term election.

I've had the same P.O. Box for the last 20 years yet still find some of my mail placed in mailboxes all along the courier's route.  I sent a Christmas Card to my cousin only to have it arrive two months later. [fill in your own postal experience here].  Do we want USPS deciding who gets an absentee ballot and who doesn't?    Anyone still pushing for this Executive Order to be in place by the November elections is living in a fairyland or wants to create chaos around the election process.  

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

My bet is on creating chaos. It's up to all of us to see it doesn't happen!
kn