Harris planning to vote by mail to 'model behavior'

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Hill

11/02/24 1:22 PM ET


Vice President Harris will vote by mail ahead of Election Day as a way to “model” the different modes of voting for Americans, the campaign told reporters Saturday. The team, however, didn’t provide an update on whether Harris had already sent her ballot.

The vice president is from California, but she has not traveled back to the state recently. Instead, she has prioritized her travel on the swing states, as the White House race remains close with less than a week left until the election.

“She wants to model behavior for other voters to continue to take advantage of the various modes of voting that we have during the [Get Out the Vote] time period,” campaign officials said. The team added that by Tuesday, they will be focused on convincing low propensity voters after they’ve made the push for early voting.

“That is the effort that we are pushing to all voters right now so that on Tuesday, it will be a last call for those final low propensity voters that this campaign needs to turn out and continue to convince all the way through polls closing on Election Day,” the official said.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4967541-kamala-harris-mail-in-vote-2024-election/

[Diraven]

1. Cue the lawsuit

Where the Trump campaign will argue her vote be disqualified because voting by mail is fraud.

[sl8]

2. Odd timing for this story.

The average person wishing to vote by mail should have done so weeks ago.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. Not necessarily

Here in PA, the deadline for requesting either a regular "absentee" ballot or a "no-excuse absentee" ballot was October 29.

Once that application was completed and approved, the person could actually go to a satellite location and have a ballot printed, get a secrecy envelope along with an exterior envelope for signature/date, and then either complete the ballot at that site and turn it in there, OR take it home to complete and mail, or drop off at a drop box, or return to a satellite office, OR even turn in at a polling place on election day.

[sl8]

5. Are you talking about ballots delivered by the USPS or dropped off in person?

I wouldn't count on many ballots mailed on Monday to be received by Tuesday.

The Vermont SOS recommended that ballots be mailed no later than October 16. I did hear on VPR earlier this week that you shouldn't mail your your ballot any later than a week before election day, but I didn't catch the source. I'd certainly allow at least a week for USPS delivery.

On edit:
The USPS recommends mailing ballots at least one week before the state's deadline.

https://about.usps.com/what/government-services/election-mail/

[BumRushDaShow]

6. The nomenclature for these ballots here in PA designates them for "mailing"

where the complete packet is multiple envelopes with the ballot. That is to distinguish from "in person" voting where most larger localities use some kind of touch screen (but not all as other sites will have paper ballots that are complete onsite and fed into a scanner).

But the option exists to mail or drop off.

Regardless of what a SOS or as we call them here, the Secretary of the Commonwealth, might recommend, there are many instances where the mail will gets delivered "locally" (at least here in Philly) within a day or two.

So for example, I mailed by "no-excuse absentee" ballot on October 8 (inside the post office) and the County/City of Philly registered it in the state database as having been received on October 10.

[sl8]

7. I see.

But even in your example, your local mail took 2 days. That's pretty good, but not good enough to mail your ballot Monday and have it counted (assuming your deadline is Tuesday).

I don't if you saw my edit, but the USPS recommends allowing at least 1 week for delivery.

Even if, by some chance, a few people do have their ballots delivered in 1 day, it seems pretty odd to me for a national publication to be encouraging mailing ballots now, with only one mail delivery day left.

[BumRushDaShow]

9. I know common sense says to get it in ASAP

but dismissing the OP and the apparent intent of Harris - which was to reaffirm the option of mail voting as a way to "early vote" (where in some states, it's ALL mail voting), didn't make sense as a critique.

And as I noted, here in PA, and I can speak specifically for Philly, you can have a "mail ballot" PRINTED ON THE SPOT at one of the designated satellite locations and then take it home to mail later or drop it off at a drop box, or return it to that or another satellite office, OR turn it in at a polling place on election day.

[sl8]

11. FWIW, my post was not intended as a criticism of you or your post.

I stand by the substance of what I said. It is too late for millions of people to mail their ballots and have them counted. There's been plenty of news articles this past week, in various states, announcing that it is now too late to mail in your ballot.

At the very least, I think that the article should have pointed out that it's now too late for many people to mail in their ballot and have them counted.

[BumRushDaShow]

12. See this (just posted) as the option

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143333054

Just because it is called a "mail ballot" doesn't mean it MUST be mailed.

States have set it up so that it can be mailed or dropped off at a box or to an election office OR actually handed in on election day.

One of the reasons I use them - and this was after my very first time using Philly's new touch screen machines in November 2019, was because the machines SUCKED. And when PA actually passed Act-77 that created the "no-excuse absentee" ballot at the end of October 2019 and the option became available that spring of 2020 (which was during the pandemic), I jumped on it and haven't gone back to "in person" since. The first time I used it was during the delayed June 2020 PA primary and I actually handed it in at a satellite office. After that, I have been mailing it.

[sl8]

13. Absolutely.

That's why I had asked earlier if you were talking about actually mailing the ballot or dropping it off yourself. It's the USPS delivery (and your particular state's deadline) that's a potential problem now. Dropping it off in person is absolutely an option.

I meant to mention it in my last post, but those news articles that announced that it was now too late to mail your ballot also provided alternative options.

[BumRushDaShow]

14. I think most people, including DU

know about (excuse my language) FUCKING DEJOY and the mail.

In the past, they have had all kinds of press gaggles and photo-ops when a President would literally "go to their polling place and vote 'in person'" - like below, when Obama went to vote in 2012 -

But I think the gist of this was Harris endorsing the idea of people using the option since she was doing just that herself (especially since she has been traveling coast to coast continually).

If anything, it could have also been a preemptive move since the media criticizes everything she does anyway and would wonder "why she hadn't returned 'home' and voted yet" or some such nonsense.

[Retrograde]

8. In California, ballots must be postmarked by 8PM on election day

to be counted. They can arrive up to 7 days later and be valid. So she should be OK, but I think it's cutting it close.

I don't like to wait until the last minute - I mailed my ballot a week after I got it

[sl8]

10. Yes, it can work for some states.

But many state's deadlines are for receipt no later than election day.

https://www.vote.org/absentee-ballot-deadlines/

If the purpose of the article was to encourage people nationwide to vote by mail, they should have run it weeks ago . Mailing a ballot on Monday is just too late for tens of millions of voters.

[BumRushDaShow]

15. But you all also have Drop Boxes and Drop-off locations for them

Vote-by-Mail Ballot Drop Boxes and Vote-by-Mail Drop-Off Locations

(obviously handled by the counties)

[rollin74]

22. In Nevada, mail-in ballots postmarked on Election Day still have to be counted

so we’ll be waiting for votes to come in for several days after Election Day here

[sl8]

23. Thanks.

I probably should have said "voters in many states".

State deadlines:
https://www.vote.org/absentee-ballot-deadlines/

[sl8]

4. Moved post.

[LiberalFighter]

16. The report is questionable. IMO

They even have their polling aggregate showing Kamala 48.2 percent to his 48.1 percent.

Looks to me they limited which polls to include.

[Picaro]

17. It's Saturday night and the election is Tuesday

How do you vote by mail at this point?

[Jack Valentino]

18. it's TOO DAMN LATE to "mail" your ballot in, if you want be be sure it is ON TIME!!!!

wtf ??

[BumRushDaShow]

19. In most (or probably "all" ) states that have "mail ballots"

they can ALSO be dropped off at a drop box, election office, or even taken to a polling place ON ELECTION DAY and handed in.

It is an "option" FOR A WAY TO VOTE that is available for people who might not want or be able to go "in person" and try to "work a touchscreen machine".

[Hope22]

21. It also avoids Election Day weather emergencies,

Possible security issue at the polls. We have even had electricity outages on Election Day.

[Retrograde]

26. See reply above re California

She’s a Californian so she has a little time- but personality I don’t like to cut things this close

[Hope22]

20. This message is way too late.

I would not mail a ballot as late as yesterday! This was a message for October15 th and it reads…complete your ballot and return it ASAP. That being said I would never mail a ballot back. I deliver mine to the BOE. Three days later I check the BOE website to make sure the ballot is marked approved and ready for counting. If I don’t see it as having been approved I call and ask what the status is. If I mail it in and it doesn’t show up …well hey it’s in the mail. If I walk it in I know they have it and I know where it went missing from. Waiting for it to show up and then possibly having to go to the BOE on Election Day and vote provisionally is something that I never want to have to do! At this moment I do not consider the USPS a trustworthy carrier of ballots.

[travelingthrulife]

24. I don't trust DeJoy's USPS. I am able to use a nearby drop box at library though.

I used to trust the USPS for anything.

[FakeNoose]

25. She'll need Fedex Overnight Priority, if it has to be in CA by Tuesday

I'm hoping she said this over a week ago, and it's just getting reported today. Regular snail mail isn't going to help her now.

[sl8]

27. CA ballots only need to be postmarked not later than election day and received NLT 7 days later.

As Retrograde pointed out above, the deadline for receipt of the ballot is no later than 7 days after.

State deadlines:
https://www.vote.org/absentee-ballot-deadlines/