Judge Issues New Rules For Absentee Ballot Signature Match Issues In Georgia

[turbinetree]

Source: Talking Points Memo

By Tierney Sneed
October 25, 2018 3:42 pm

After indicating Wednesday that she intended to block election officials in Georgia from rejecting absentee ballots for allegedly mismatching signatures, U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May issued her order Thursday laying out the new procedures for officials to deal with absentee ballots and ballot applications with signatures that they believe don’t match the signatures for the voter they have on record.


The protocols reflect some of the feedback she received, after handing down a proposed order, from both state and local election officials, as well as from those challenging the signature match procedures in the state.

Under her order, absentee ballots for which officials believe the signature doesn’t match what they have on file will be treated as provisional ballots, and the voter will be notified of opportunities to correct the issue. Likewise, those who apply for absentee ballots with forms with signature match issues will be sent a provisional ballot, with instructions for addressing the signature discrepancy.

Georgia’s practice of throwing out ballots for perceived signature mismatch is one of multiple voting rights issues that recently have attracted scrutiny in the state, where Secretary of State Brian Kemp (R) is running for governor against Democrat Stacey Abrams, the first black female major party gubernatorial candidate in the country.

Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/absentee-signatures-georgia-order-kemp-abrams

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Judge May’s order included language suggested by the challengers that attorneys for the affected voters be allowed to act on their behalf in presenting identification to rectify the signature — an adjustment suggested given that many absentee voters have mobility issues. The judge’s order also addressed concerns raised by election officials about the certification process being complicated by the procedures necessary to give voters the chances to fix signature mismatch issues. May said anything not resolved by the certification deadline should not delay the certification “and shall not require recertification of the election results unless those votes would change the outcome of the election.”

The spokesperson for Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, when asked earlier Thursday by TPM if there was any plans to appeal Judge Leigh Martin May’s order, said, “To be respectful of the judicial process, we will hold on commenting at length for now aside from what’s in [the public court] filings.”

Read the judge’s order below:

[Jose Garcia]

1. This seems to be a reasonable compromise between preventing voter fraud and

counting every legal vote.

[lagomorph777]

14. welcome to DU. Voter fraud isn't actually a thing; voter suppression (like this) most certainly is.

This is hardly a correction for the problem; it still allows officials to subjectively throw votes into the never-counted "provisional" trash can.

[Jose Garcia]

16. Absentee ballot fraud has been a big problem here in South Florida

History Shows Voter Fraud In South Florida Doesn’t Happen On Election Day

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – History has shown us that most voter fraud in South Florida does not take place on Election Day. It usually happens when absentee ballots are falsified.

Absentee ballot fraud has led to many arrests and lawsuits over the years.

In 1997, it led to the removal of Miami Mayor Xavier Suarez.

“No one in my campaign no one has done anything improper,” Suarez said at the time.

more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/miami.cbslocal.com/2016/10/18/history-shows-voter-fraud-in-south-florida-doesnt-happen-on-election-day/amp/

[lagomorph777]

17. That's election fraud, not "voter fraud".

Voter fraud (voting more than once or impersonating another voter when casting a ballot) is very rare. Systematically doctoring other peoples' ballots and injecting false ones into the system is a completely different animal, which voter suppression laws will do nothing to address.

https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/debunking-voter-fraud-myth
https://www.wmur.com/article/exhaustive-investigation-reveals-little-evidence-of-possible-voter-fraud-in-nh/20955267
https://www.wmnf.org/voter-fraud-trumps-voting-commission/
The Dog That Voted and Other Election Fraud Yarns
The GOP’s 10-year campaign to gin up voter fraud hysteria—and bring back Jim Crow at the ballot box.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/voter-suppression-kevin-drum/2/

[Honeycombe8]

2. I don't believe Repubs count provisional ballots.

Just my belief.

And if there is no watchdog to make sure they notify the voters of signature match issues, they won't do it.

There is no way for a lay person to know that two similar but different signatures are not by the same person.

This is a bad ruling.

[beachbum bob]

3. From what I see, ballots like this looked by a democrat and republican election

judge....no single person makes the decision. I have worked a few times as a poll watcher and my friend has been an election judge who help with counting the absentee ballots.

[turbinetree]

4. Most states do not count provisional ballots..................I agree this ruling is not good.......

she has left this at the point of contact of the voter and the election judge to determine that signature................

[leftynyc]

8. They do if there are enough

to make a difference in the outcome.

[KCDebbie]

19. I disagree. By encouraging voters to settle for casting Provisional ballots,

we may in fact be encouraging them to cast votes that will eventually NOT be counted...

From http://www.ncsl.org/…/elections-an…/provisional-ballots.aspx - it says:

In nearly all of the states, after being cast, the provisional ballot is kept separate from other ballots until after the election. A determination is then made as to whether the voter was eligible to vote, and therefore whether the ballot is to be counted. Generally, a board of elections or local election officials will investigate the provisional ballots within days of the election. Since this is an additional administrative step, a large number of provisional ballots can increase costs for jurisdictions.

Pay attention to that last sentence: A LARGE NUMBER OF PROVISIONAL BALLOTS CAN INCREASE COSTS FOR JURISDICTIONS - this means that a jurisdiction will be incentivized to throw out a large number of provisional ballots if it is determined that it will cost too much to properly investigate each ballot in the time allotted!

[sandensea]

5. "will be treated as provisional ballots"

And we all know how the GOPee treats those.

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/is-your-vote-being-thrown-in-the-trash/

[red dog 1]

7. Thanks for that link

Very interesting!

[secondwind]

6. I thought if the race was close (which this one really is), the provisional ballots get counted??

[Maeve]

9. Provisional ballots have to be vetted

To make sure they are in the right place, by a qualified voter, with appropriate identification, etc.--rules vary from state to state. Sometimes voters have to show up and present documentation to get the vote accepted. The votes that are accepted are counted, but usually after a specified time (to allow for details to be checked) and are then added to the official tally. For the most part, only in close races do provisional votes matter, but there are those cases....

[BumRushDaShow]

10. Just saw that GA is going to appeal this

(of course.... can't have all them n****rs votin' )

GA Will Appeal Judge’s Order Blocking Absentee Ballot Rejection Over Signatures

By Tierney Sneed
October 25, 2018 4:54 pm

Georgia will appeal a ruling from a federal judge blocking the rejection of absentee ballots because of alleged signature mismatch, the state indicated in a court filing asking the judge to pause her order.

The filings said that by “adding brand new, untested processes ad hoc to long established election procedures at the eleventh hour, it will introduce uncertainty and confusion under extreme time pressure at best, and it risks undermining the integrity of the State’s election process.”

“Staying that injunction to allow review by the Eleventh Circuit will ensure at least a measure of careful deliberation before upending the State’s election processes in the middle of a general election,” the court filing said.

Secretary of State Brian Kemp (R), who is also running for governor, as well as county election officials in Georgia are facing two lawsuits over how they handle absentee ballot and ballot applications where they believe the voter’s signature does not match the one they have on record. U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May issued orders this week ending their policy of rejecting those ballots and applications outright. Instead, under an order she issued earlier Thursday, election officials should treat those ballots with alleged signature mismatch issues as provisional ballots, while taking steps to make sure the voters have the opportunity to address the discrepancy.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/ga-will-appeal-judges-order-blocking-absentee-ballot-rejection-for-signatures

[fierywoman]

11. Here in WA state, where all our ballots are on paper and mailed in,

if a ballot doesn't pass scrutiny the person who sent it is notified so that the question about it could be fixed ... does that happen in GA or does the ballot just get thrown out without the person who voted knowing that the vote wasn't counted?

[wroberts189]

12. My signature changes all the time... never been an issue for anything...

And what about the elderly who have a hard time signing their name?

since when has signature matching been so important? And let me guess... the precincts where they dont match the most are black...

[bluestarone]

13. My signature has changed a bunch so how

Is this an issue?? They will do ANYTHING to stop people from voting!!

[lagomorph777]

15. I don't have the motor skills to sign the same way twice.

If you see matching signatures from me, you can be sure one of them is forged.

Signature-matching is just a trick Republicans use to discard votes.

[mwooldri]

18. Exactly!

Credit card companies have discarded the signature requirement for that reason: signatures don't always match up. When I was taught to match signatures (back in the 1990s) I wasn't properly trained.