Does an absentee ballot (the ballot itself) have a name and address on it?
A_Tradition_Continues wrote:I don't know how it works in Minnesota. But here in Georgia, absentee ballots and "provisional" ballots are kept in sealed envelopes with the voter's name and identifying info on the outside of the envelope.
Does an absentee ballot (the ballot itself) have a name and address on it?
When the ballot is accepted for counting, the envelope is opened and discarded and the ballot is put into a ballot box with other absentee ballots for counting. Once in the ballot box, there is no identifying information on the ballot. If the ballot is rejected for any reason, the sealed envelope with the ballot still inside is kept. This is in case somebody challenges the decision to reject the ballot.
When challenging such ballots, it's theoretically impossible to know who the person voted for (unless the voter feels like telling what his vote was). If I was an absentee voter who's ballot was rejected, and Franken called me, I'd never tell him that my vote was really for Coleman. If he (or his campaign staff) asked, I'd tell them it was a secret ballot. If he wanted to fight to have the ballot counted, he could do that.
It will be very suspicious if any of these ballots are counted and they all go to Franken. Theoretically, they should be a mix.