Ballots are going out to voters across America, and reports of incidents have begun trickling in.
In Colorado “at least a dozen” ballots were stolen from the mail, filled out, and returned. The signatures didn’t match, so the voters were contacted, who reported they never received their ballots. The system worked; the stolen votes weren’t counted, and the actual voters will get replacement ballots. (Story here)
Ballots also were stolen from a mailbox in East Orlando, Florida, although in that case the thief targeted items like debit cards and threw away the ballots. Those voters will get ballots, and the elections supervisor says people shouldn’t worry about someone else voting their ballot, because the signature matching process is “secure.” Sounds like the system works there, too. (Story here)
In Phoenix, Arizona, an arsonist set a mailbox fire, damaging about 20 ballots. Police caught a suspect, and affected voters will get replacement ballots. The system worked there, too. (Story here)
We’ll always have miscreants up to no good. That’s why we have police, mail inspectors, election staffs, and procedures for every contingency. The system works pretty darn well most of the time, even when misguided partisans try to sabotage it from within; there are laws and procedures for dealing with that, as well (see story here).
Nearly three-fourths of Americans trust the security and integrity of our election system. Most of the distrustful cohort are, as you’d expect, Trump supporters who’ve been spoonfed election lies (see story here).
Photo below: Ballots were in discarded stolen mail in East Orlando, Florida
