The SQ lawsuits are starting.

[Conan71]

The new law maintains the ability to cast a provisional ballot, but doing so will not allow the vote to be counted unless you follow-up and provide ID.  

Not only are we back at square one, but we've now complicated the process to the point where some percentage of voters will be discouraged from voting at all.  

I'm not against preserving the integrity of the vote, but there is a way to do that without creating unnecessary hurdles.      

I'd guess we just alienated .00001% of the voters.

Again, tell me the hardship of keeping your voter registration card in a safe place and remembering to take it with you on election day or simply signing an affadavit if you've been bone-headed enough to get your license suspended.  Why is that such a high hurdle?

[nathanm]

It's not "simply sign[ing] and affidavit", though. Last I checked, you have to vote a provisional ballot after signing the affidavit, then show up in person at the county election board office by the end of the day on the Thursday immediately following the election to show the appropriate photo ID. Unless the measure on the ballot changed that?

Also, it's damn easy to get your license suspended in Oklahoma, although for the less bone-headed stupid things there's no one there to physically take it from you. Say you have a car that is inoperable but haven't black tagged and cancel the liability insurance. No license for you!

[we vs us]

I'd guess we just alienated .00001% of the voters.

Again, tell me the hardship of keeping your voter registration card in a safe place and remembering to take it with you on election day or simply signing an affadavit if you've been bone-headed enough to get your license suspended.  Why is that such a high hurdle?

There shouldn't be any hurdles, I think is the point. 

Or fewer, not more.

[Cats Cats Cats]

Well my problem is that if you have to sign an affidavit then I am sure you get a provisional ballot.  Which probably never gets counted.

[Red Arrow]

Well my problem is that if you have to sign an affidavit then I am sure you get a provisional ballot.  Which probably never gets counted.

I'm sure that if they would make a difference, the potential losing candidate will make sure they get counted.  If everything that wins, wins by a lot more than the number of provisional ballots it would not change the winner if they were counted.  It would only make a difference in the point spread.

[Red Arrow]

At least the election board isn't doing vote caging like they have in other states. And we still get paper ballots. (for the moment) We could be far worse off, election-wise.

Our voting machines is something we got right.  They appear to be accurate and leave a paper ticket to count in case of a dispute.  NO HANGING CHATs or whatever caused the problems in some states.

[Conan71]

Well hell, let's make sure no one is inconvenienced doing their civic duty.  I really don't care to vote on election day and driving down to the Tulsa County Election Board to vote early is a pain in the donkey for me.  They should simply extend the voting out a few extra days so myself and people who aren't very punctual can vote at their convenience.

I have never seen so many people get bent over having to be responsible enough to keep and maintain some sort of identification. Urg! 

[nathanm]

Well hell, let's make sure no one is inconvenienced doing their civic duty.  I really don't care to vote on election day and driving down to the Tulsa County Election Board to vote early is a pain in the donkey for me.  They should simply extend the voting out a few extra days so myself and people who aren't very punctual can vote at their convenience.

I have never seen so many people get bent over having to be responsible enough to keep and maintain some sort of identification. Urg! 

Many states do extend voting a few extra days or allow "absentee" ballots to be cast walk-up at many different locations for a couple of weeks prior to the election's nominal date. Some go so far as to put poll workers in grocery stores and other high-traffic places to make it as convenient as possible to vote. Oregon is all mail-in.

It's not that we condone irresponsibility, it's that we don't think that voting should be conditioned on anything but perhaps being adjudicated insane or a felon and being an otherwise eligible voter. I don't think it's worth even going that far, but I realize that stance is outside the norm given that only a couple of states allow people in jail/prison to vote.

[SXSW]

I'd be curious to see how much the state has spent defending these lawsuits.  There were several lawsuits related to the abortion laws passed this summer and now these state questions.  That might make Republicans think twice about voting for this garbage when they find out the state has spent millions of dollars (unsuccessfully) defending them.  This would make a good Urban Tulsa/Oklahoma Gazette piece.

[Conan71]

I'd be curious to see how much the state has spent defending these lawsuits.  There were several lawsuits related to the abortion laws passed this summer and now these state questions.  That might make Republicans think twice about voting for this garbage when they find out the state has spent millions of dollars (unsuccessfully) defending them.  This would make a good Urban Tulsa/Oklahoma Gazette piece.

The state is constantly being sued.  These lawsuits are principally defended by attornies already on state payroll.  If they were not assigned to these new cases, they would be assigned to other cases.   Yes there are law suits where the state brings in outside counsel or experts.  This is simply a matter of filing motions.  Someone else is welcome to correct me but constitutionality challenges seldom, if ever, result in a monetary award to the plaintiff.

[waterboy]

We could have been real progressive and provided incentives for voting.

-Tie in a free lottery ticket for voting at a QT or Love.

-Allow voting to be done from a computer on OK.gov

-Allow voting from an ATM for an extra charge that BOK gets a % of.

-Register to vote at WalMarts, Targets or Utica Square with coupons.

[Conan71]

We could have been real progressive and provided incentives for voting.

-Tie in a free lottery ticket for voting at a QT or Love.

-Allow voting to be done from a computer on OK.gov

-Allow voting from an ATM for an extra charge that BOK gets a % of.

-Register to vote at WalMarts, Targets or Utica Square with coupons.

The unions and ACORN already do all that, silly. 

[sgrizzle]

It's not "simply sign[ing] and affidavit", though. Last I checked, you have to vote a provisional ballot after signing the affidavit, then show up in person at the county election board office by the end of the day on the Thursday immediately following the election to show the appropriate photo ID. Unless the measure on the ballot changed that?

Also, it's damn easy to get your license suspended in Oklahoma, although for the less bone-headed stupid things there's no one there to physically take it from you. Say you have a car that is inoperable but haven't black tagged and cancel the liability insurance. No license for you!

Again, like I and others have said, all you need is the voter id card you get for free

[Red Arrow]

Again, like I and others have said, all you need is the voter id card you get for free

Evidently that is more than some people are capable of handling.  I think they normally vote left.

[Conan71]

Evidently that is more than some people are capable of handling.  I think they normally vote left.

That would necessarily require something called "personal responsibility" but I've been called out for mentioning the "R" word on here