Posted on 11/06/2012 1:13:18 PM PST by GraceG
For the head of Libya's national election commission, the method by which Americans vote is startling in that it depends so much on trust and the good faith of election officials and voters alike.
"It's an incredible system," said Nuri K. Elabbar, who traveled to the United States along with election officials from more than 60 countries to observe today's presidential elections as part of a program run by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). Your humble Cable guy visited polling places with some of the international officials this morning. Most of them agreed that in their countries, such an open voting system simply would not work.
"It's very difficult to transfer this system as it is to any other country. This system is built according to trust and this trust needs a lot of procedures and a lot of education for other countries to adopt it," Elabbar said.
The most often noted difference between American elections among the visitors was that in most U.S. states, voters need no identification. Voters can also vote by mail, sometimes online, and there's often no way to know if one person has voted several times under different names, unlike in some Arab countries, where voters ink their fingers when casting their ballots.
The international visitors also noted that there's no police at U.S. polling stations. In foreign countries, police at polling places are viewed as signs of security; in the United States they are sometimes seen as intimidating.
(Excerpt) Read more at thecable.foreignpolicy.com ...
In Louisiana too, ID is required. Every year they even question my middle initial because I changed it to my maiden name initial. They watch everything where I live - in RED country!
Well said JPT! I show a DL.
Welcome to FR, newbie! Yes, “reds” are an exception in Philly!
I had to move away after 35 years in the City of Brotherly Love, a motto that has taken on a whole new meaning now that GLBT’s are running the City Council....
Will a cable bill work? How about a bill for an 0bamaphone? Other countries take voting seriously. Here it’s a joke.
Here’s an idea. Require the same ID as needed to get on a plane and maybe the people will take voting seriously and go out and vote.
Wussy procedures tell people that voting is a joke.
Hahaha! Oh wow, you know it’s bad when U.N. workers point it out.
Thank God...We also have information on your absentee ballot........
In Michigan, you can still vote without an ID if you sign an affidavit. http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,4670,7-127-1633_8716-178123—,00.html
(I PROMISE, I’m not cheating!)
Clearly, the rest of the world has a clue about human nature. As evidenced by all of the in-your-face cheating today, the Dems clearly value power over honesty.
We should have been using the purple thumb routine for years: you want to vote twice, come in with one less thumb.
I.D. required here in Pa.
The affidavit is almost never used because most folks committing vote fraud aren’t interested in signing what amounts to an admission of guilt. That’s why they were so upset about the citizenship check box, it was effectively a signed confession.
In NC, we don’t have to show ID. We simply walk up, state our last name. At this time, they look for your very large print voter card. When they find it, they confirm your first name and address... which is easily read by someone 5 feet away. I feel so secure...
GA does something similar, except the ID check uses an optical reader that checks the hash code on the back of your drivers license.
I'll post a response as soon as I decide whether its appropriate to laugh or to cry.
Yet, in South Carolina, my Marine son was not allowed to vote because his military ID wasn’t good enough! He had to go home and get his voter registration card, go back to the polls and be approved by the supervisor!
Yes, you’re right. I just wanted to add the exception to your statement. Voter turnout was heavy in my neck of the woods this morning. Hope that is a good sign!
Delicious Irony.
I live in Mexico, as an American expat. Your national ID with picture is require to vote. The voter log at the poll has your picture. You leave your thumb print when voting and your index finger is put in purple ink to prevent you from voting twice.
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