I am very disturbed.

[chillfactor]

I am working the early voting days in my little corner of the world in New Mexico. At the end of the night we count up the ballots (we have paper ballots in this state). It breaks my heart when I see so many ballots with r'tump chosen as president on a ballot.

[LisaL]

1. I thought ballots weren't supposed to have been counted until election night?

[MADem]

2. Excuse me? You count the ballots BEFORE election day? Really?

They aren't placed in an individual envelope for each ballot, and / or kept in a locked ballot box?

[chillfactor]

3. we count ballots every night of early voting..

they are not official results...only a check on do the number of ballots match our tabulating machines. the ballots are then sent to the secretary of state in our state where they are officially counted and certified after the election.

[MADem]

5. I thought NM used OCR tabulators statewide.

That's what the SECSTATE site says...?

http://www.sos.state.nm.us/Voter_Information/other-questions.aspx

This is very troubling if poll workers have the opportunity to manhandle the ballots and examine them in that fashion. How tough is it to slip a few more in the bunch, or make substitutions?

[MADem]

9. So you're saying that people ARE counting the votes ahead of election day. Hmmm.

I can see checking if the number of people who checked in to vote matched the number of ballots cast in an OCR system, but beyond that?

Opportunities for mischief.

If one party or the other perceives that their candidate is falling behind, it gives them motivation to engage in activities that might alter the outcome of the election.

My vote is in an envelope in a locked box and won't be opened/recorded until election day.

[cwydro]

6. I'm very disturbed by your OP.

This sounds wrong on any number of levels.

[RBInMaine]

8. What is the point of this post? To depress the rest of us too?

[cwydro]

10. This is wrong.

[ibegurpard]

11. votes aren't counted until election day.

Yes we know whether ballots are being turned in or not but what are you talking about knowing what the votes are?

[imanamerican63]

12. I don't this going on?

They may be counting registered people who have voted early! If they are counting the votes, they are breaking the law! This post could be a troll and trying to discouraging/suppressing our vote?