Idiot Trump went on today about "sending out millions of universal ballots" with no controls.

[EarnestPutz]

Just for the edification of those in states without mail-in ballots, here in Washington we get all of our ballots in the mail. It comes, addressed to us individually as registered voters. Inside is a return envelope that we use to mail our completed ballot back to the county. The return envelope has our name and address on it and a place for us to sign and date the envelope so that the signature can be verifies. The ballot naturally does not have our name on it, and first goes into a yellow "security" envelope that maintains our anonymity after it is removed from the mailer and bundled with other ballots before they are machine counted on election day.

[marybourg]

1. We don't have "universal ballots" in this country.

[Retrograde]

2. We don't even have them in my county

which includes four Congressional districts and I forget how many Assembly ones - not to mention city elections that are on the same ballot.

[EarnestPutz]

3. My point exactly.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. The process is similar in MN.

You request a ballot and they send you one, along with three more items: a plain brown envelope you put the completed anonymous ballot in and seal it; another envelope that already has your name and address, and you write in your ID number (DL, state ID or last four SSN digits) and you sign it. For the general election that signature has to be witnessed by another voter, who writes in their name, address and ID and also signs the envelope. You put the brown envelope with the ballot into the completed signature envelope, seal that envelope and put it in the third envelope, which is postage prepaid and mailed back to the city or county. When they get it they cross-check your name and voter ID, then separate the ballot for counting. I don't know how it would be possible to cheat. There are no "universal" ballots.

[BBG]

5. Signature verification is done too

The wife was contacted when her signature was ‘evolving’ after we married. She hadn’t settled in on that last name and her signature varied enough that she was contacted to verify she had cast the ballot.