[DeepSpace9er]

Its 2008.. and there STILL isnt a way to hamper voter fraud. From the 200,000 dubious voter registrations in Ohio, to the Acorn workers registering the starting line of the Dallas Cowboys in Nevada. Bogus social security numbers, dead people, and http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?s=9177991

Companys have found more secure methods of avoiding fraud. What is the big deal here? I guess people would rather passively disenfranchise voters by allowing fraudulent registrations than actively causing far less by removing the dubious registrations. If you ask me, if you cant fill out a voter registration form correctly, and pass an easy civics test (like who the 2 major candidates are) you have no business voting.

[IceFire]

Send in Elections Canada...

[Rian]

Actually, it sounds like the accusations of large-scale vote fraud are unfounded. Fraudulent registrations don’t necessarily translate into fraudulent votes, especially since most of them seem to be identified by the organizations collecting them. ACORN is required to turn in all the registrations they receive, (for obvious reasons – what if someone decided to, say, toss out all the cards from one of the parties?) but they can and do label the ones that are obviously bogus, and fire the people who collected them.

Articles on the issue here and here.

Without evidence to suggest that large numbers of fraudulent votes are actually being cast, any steps making it more difficult to register or cast a ballot will only impinge on the rights of honest voters.

[Sarafan]

What's the method of voting on the US?

[tinfoil]

Send in Elections Canada...

[TrashMan]

What's the method of voting on the US?

A rather stupid one..

[Shade]

What's the whole deal with having to register to vote, anyway? I thought the idea was that you were eligible past a certain age (18 in most places) instead of based on whether you remembered to fill out some form or another. It's all automatic here, the moment you hit 18 you're registered for life. You'll get a 'voting card' mailed to you a week or two before any election, which you then bring with you when you go to cast your vote, and that's all there is to it.

[Flipside]

I would have thought it was kind of hard to be anonymous in voting, especially if you have some kind of 'voter number' or the like?

[Shade]

Nothing of the sort. The card is just for identification (to make sure you only vote once), it isn't the actual ballot. All anyone can tell later is that you voted.

[General Battuta]

The US is actually fairly unusual in that it makes it relatively difficult to vote. You need to fill out a freely available form and supply some personal information.

[Mongoose]

Ideally, it's meant to protect against voter fraud, such as ineligible people (like felons or non-citizens) attempting to vote, or people attempting to vote twice.  How well it succeeds at that is anyone's guess, of course.

[DeepSpace9er]

It should be retina scans or handprints needed to register, that and a valid, checked SS# before the registration goes through. That way, if somebody tries to register under another SS#, the retina or handprint scan will pull up a name already registered thereby eliminating the possibility of registering twice under different SS#s.

Maybe a national database for this too. And when you goto the polls, you have to go to your pretedermined polling place, and have your hand or retina scanned again before you can fill out a ballot.

Of course, one political party or the other will claim this 'disenfranchises voters without eyes or hands' or some such thing.

[General Battuta]

That sounds pretty draconian. Most other countries get by without such measures.

[karajorma]

What's the method of voting on the US?

Go to the voting booth. See that it has a Diebold machine. Know that the Republicans will win.

[BloodEagle]

What's the method of voting on the US?

Go to the voting booth. See that it has a Diebold machine. Know that the Republicans will win.

[Solatar]

It should be retina scans or handprints needed to register, that and a valid, checked SS# before the registration goes through. That way, if somebody tries to register under another SS#, the retina or handprint scan will pull up a name already registered thereby eliminating the possibility of registering twice under different SS#s.

Maybe a national database for this too. And when you goto the polls, you have to go to your pretedermined polling place, and have your hand or retina scanned again before you can fill out a ballot.

Of course, one political party or the other will claim this 'disenfranchises voters without eyes or hands' or some such thing.

US citizens aren't too keen on large national databases and the like, even if it would increase security.

[Ford Prefect]

Voter fraud only becomes a point of contention if the election is close, and I think Obama is going to mop the floor with McCain.

[Mongoose]

Not if you believe the most recent national polls.  He may win key states and take a reasonably comfortable margin of electoral votes, but I doubt he's going to run away with the popular vote.

[Ford Prefect]

See we shall.

[karajorma]

Voter fraud only becomes a point of contention if the election is close, and I think Obama is going to mop the floor with McCain.

Given that the American people have done very little about election fraud in the previous elections I wouldn't be surprised if we simply see much larger vote rigging this time around.