Castor to Deborah Clark: Open more early voting sites

Congresswoman Kathy Castor isn't too happy about Pinellas election supervisor Deborah Clark's policy of de-emphasizing early voting in favor of absentee ballots (read earlier story here).

In a letter dated Monday, Castor, a Democrat, calls on Clark, a Republican, to open more sites than the three Clark staffed during the August primary. "The truth is failing to expand early voting locations in Pinellas effectively removes early walk-in voting as a reasonable option for most county residents," Castor wrote. Click on link to read Castor's full letter: Download pinellas_soe_letter.pdf

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Comments

[GOP Told Clark No]

Republican Election Supervisor Clark was told by the GOP to close early voting stations (particularly in SOuth St. Pete) because most of those voters were voting for the Democrats.

She was also told by the GOP to remove the "Incumbent" designation from the ballots.

Pinellas SOE Clark... the best the GOP's monet can buy!

Sounds like a political stunt from the Ds to me... voting by mail is actually more convient than early voting.

It's always been a political stunt by the Rs to me... stealing and manipulating the election is actually more convient than early voting.

Closing down Early Voting locations is about not wasting tax dollars.

Early Voting locations have notoriously low turnouts, and require staffing by paid poll workers and paid SOE staffers every hour of operation.

Absentee Ballots cost a fraction of staffed Early Voting locations.

The state of Oregon switched over to 100% Absentee Ballots (Vote-by-Mail) back in 2000. No polling places in Oregon for the past 8 years.

The result?

Turnout increased while the cost of elections decreased. And when was the last time you heard about voting problems in Oregon?

Never.

Case closed.

Pinellas compared to Oregon?... what a pinhead.

Only in American can we justify using tax dollars to bail out private industry… then claim to be saving tax dollars when we stifle democracy. Out-freaking-rageous!

[Chris Brudy]

10:37,

Saving tax dollars is not the primary, secondary or tertiary function of elections. Correctly counting the votes of the most voters possible is the function of elections.

Absentee ballots, to a greater extent than early voting, introduce unavoidable ballot custody issues. Just this last March, for instance, two thousand Pinellas absentee ballots went missing, allegedly "lost" by the Post Office.

If we are to trust our elections without question again, we are going to have to take the time, only several hours, to hand audit the top races on at least 10% of our ballots right there in the precinct where they were cast and before those ballots leave the room they were cast in. Otherwise, someone will try to steal the election. Especially if they think they can get away with it, which they can now.

By the way, it would be far cheaper than the cost of maintaining scanning machines.

[TRUE BLUE]

Let's do away with elections - they are so messy anyways. Let's just put in office the candidate who can extort the most money. That way the Republicans can hold all the offices and the rest of us can just do as we're told and shut up.