Thu
Aug 6 2009
08:47 am
Two GOP election commissioners opppose convenience voting
By: R. Neal

Meeting today. Two 'no' votes will kill it. Hayes Hickman has this report.

(Curiously, this article was on the front page of the paper. It was not on the front page of the website, and was not listed on the 'news' page. I had to search for it.)

Topics:
R. Neal's picture

Oops. Fixed. Thanks.

Submitted by R. Neal on Thu, 2009/08/06 - 8:50am.

Oops. Fixed. Thanks.

Anonymously Nine's picture

Not so convenient

Submitted by Anonymously Nine (not verified) on Thu, 2009/08/06 - 9:33am.

I hope it fails. It is not convenient to the elderly or those without transportation. Last time I check they have some rights also. It won't save enough money to inconvenience those it harms. I'm glad to see someone stand up for the rights of the elderly.

Cue the Alinsky twins. "How much..."

Anonymously Nine's picture

easy Saul

Submitted by Anonymously Nine (not verified) on Thu, 2009/08/06 - 10:14am.

Why do you hate expansive democracy?

A new name for social democracy? You have trouble calling it what it is don't you?

Saul Alinsky was a big fan of what you call expansive democracy. Does it trouble you his playback has been outed?

From the KNS:

"Knox County Election Commission Chairman Chris Heagerty, a Republican, said he won't support that plan, citing concerns of those voters, including his own mother, who prefer the tradition of casting a ballot at their neighborhood poll on Election Day.

"A lot of people's mommas are like that and I'm not going to take that away from them," Heagerty said."

I'm glad finally the Election Commission is doing something for the people instead of to the people.

Anonymously Nine's picture

Saul

Submitted by Anonymously Nine (not verified) on Thu, 2009/08/06 - 10:43am.

It's an old tactic by the GOP to limit the number of possible voters. Fits into your game plan.

Not only is that silly, it is also not what happened in the only case of convenience voting in the whole state.

In the recent Farragut election that had convenience voting, turn out was actually lower than the previous election.

We have two weeks of early voting now Saul, get it together. Your statement is ridiculous.

Anonymously Nine's picture

tradition

Submitted by Anonymously Nine (not verified) on Thu, 2009/08/06 - 11:04am.

One case is anecdote.

There has only been one case Professor.

Two weeks of early voting with more voting precincts is more convenient than the new plan.

Tradition has value. Especially for those who are older. The elderly desire to keep the current system. It is good to see their wishes and concerns have been heard.

We have a good system now. Be serious, why do we need more than two weeks of early voting?

R. Neal's picture

Be serious, why do we need

Submitted by R. Neal on Thu, 2009/08/06 - 11:07am.

Be serious, why do we need more than two weeks of early voting?

We don't. State law.

R. Neal's picture

Inconvenient FACTS: Unless

Submitted by R. Neal on Thu, 2009/08/06 - 10:35am.

Inconvenient FACTS:

Unless the elderly person in question lives next door to the polling place and is mobile enough to walk to it, he or she is going to need transportation. What difference does it make if he or she drives or is driven 1 mile or 5 miles to the polling place?

Regardless, Tennessee has "no excuses" voting by mail for seniors. Anyone 65 or over qualifies. All they have to do is request an absentee ballot, no reason required. Anyone else who is physically unable to vote in person, regardless of age, can also request an absentee ballot.

Those nostalgic for a social event can hold parties in their former wards and precincts or a nearby church gym. And bonus, there wouldn't be any 100 foot rule or any other restrictions on campaigning or even giving away half pints.

Anonymously Nine's picture

Prof is in the classroom

Submitted by Anonymously Nine (not verified) on Thu, 2009/08/06 - 10:51am.

One of my favorite logical fallacies is that change is inherently good.

I like your new meme, if someone disagrees with you on the Internet it is because they have been paid to by Big Oil or Big Coal or the GOP.

Your self importance metulj is comical. I don't think Big Oil or Big Coal or the GOP know you exist. If they did, they wouldn't care.

Anonymously Nine's picture

so childish

Submitted by Anonymously Nine (not verified) on Thu, 2009/08/06 - 11:18am.

Meme: That's not what that word means.

(link...)

Urban rumors and hoaxes

"Many Internet memes are urban legends, fraud schemes, slander or false news stories that are either planted deliberately to become an Internet meme, evolve by mistake or rumor, or that jump from an offline source to the Internet."

Slowly so you may understand metulj. The meme is your slander that I am paid to blog. That I work the room for money.

What proof do you have, do you have any facts to back up your silly statement?

See if you can understand this, you do not decide what words mean.

R. Neal's picture

It is not convenient to the

Submitted by R. Neal on Thu, 2009/08/06 - 9:41am.

It is not convenient to the elderly or those without transportation.

Yeah, that's the argument made by the the two Republican commissioners.

It's a non-starter.

Unless the elderly person in question lives next door to the polling place and is mobile enough to walk to it, he or she is going to need transportation. What difference does it make if he or she drives or is driven 1 mile or 5 miles to the polling place?

Regardless, Tennessee has "no excuses" voting by mail for seniors. Anyone 65 or over qualifies. All they have to do is request an absentee ballot, no reason required. Anyone else who is physically unable to vote in person, regardless of age, can also request an absentee ballot.

Those nostalgic for a social event can hold parties in their former wards and precincts or a nearby church gym. And bonus, there wouldn't be any 100 foot rule or any other restrictions on campaigning or even giving away half pints.

bill young's picture

It is what it is

Submitted by bill young on Thu, 2009/08/06 - 2:20pm.

I am for convience voting.

Said so in my remarks at the City Council workshop.

However,when the Chair of the Election Commission stated at
an Election Commission meeting that there may not be the votes
to pass convenience voting on the Commission I knew convience
voting was in trouble.

But I continued to ask for support on City Council for convience
voting hoping that if we got a majority on City Council we could
somehow get a super majority on the Election Commission.

We did..in fact we got 6 votes on City Council
for convience voting.

I thank those members of City Council who voted for convience
voting.

Council members Woodhull,Roddy & Frost all stood in favor
of a 21st century plan to modernize our method of voting.

I was gratified by Councilman Bailey's & Councilman Hall's
support because I talked to and/or emailed both council members
& ask them both to vote for convience voting.

Vice Mayor Becker showed his leadership in his support of
convience voting.

One other thing concerning the members of City Council that
supported convience voting.

They have all run in recent city council elections & thus
know all the ends & out of a campaign for City Council.

And after thoughtful consideration did what they
thought was best.

The law book says it takes a super majority (4 votes)
on the Election Commission to enact convience voting.

It seams we do not have that super majority.

But I'm not going to say we are stuck with a
19th century voting method.

I'm going to say the law was followed.

We did not have the votes on the Election Commission
to get it done.

We will try again.

But for now.
It is what it is.

R. Neal's picture

Convenience voting nixed by

Submitted by R. Neal on Thu, 2009/08/06 - 5:04pm.

Convenience voting nixed by EC.

Nobody's picture

Number 9

Submitted by Nobody (not verified) on Thu, 2009/08/06 - 5:47pm.

Why do you all even answer him? It just encourages him. If you just ignore him, eventually he will find someone else to bother.

Rachel's picture

Republicans sure hate the

Submitted by Rachel on Thu, 2009/08/06 - 6:06pm.

Republicans sure hate the idea of making it easier for people to vote.

KC's picture

I'd like to see more studies

Submitted by KC on Fri, 2009/08/07 - 1:21pm.

I'd like to see more studies done on "convenience" voting.

I don't think accessibility is really a big advantage when it comes to maintaining local voting precincts. My parents are zoned to vote at Farragut primary. I can hardly see them walking down Kingston Pike to go vote, and before the county started letting kids off on election day, parking and traffic were always huge headaches.

That said, my main concern with convenience voting is that by making the general voting centers accessible by all regardless of precinct, are we not running the risk of making the "ballots" longer and more confusing for seniors.

I know there are precincts which are split by two or more voting districts, but it seems that the basis for a lot of frustration on the part of seniors is having longer and longer "ballots," which even if they are blocked off by election workers, still add to the time spent in a voting booth trying to figure out for whom you can vote. I don't think that is a good thing.

The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present.President Abraham Lincoln 1862

R. Neal's picture

They get the same ballot

Submitted by R. Neal on Fri, 2009/08/07 - 1:24pm.

They get the same ballot they would if they were at a local precinct polling place. That's handled by the software. You are only presented races/questions that apply based on your precinct.

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