Voted today since NJ does not have in-person voting. Here are my thoughts.
Let's just say I was careful to read the instructions. And while it's not hard to do - it is NOT easy either.
In other words, I fully expect to see some large percentage of the elderly vote just fall off the map in NJ. Or be manipulated as they request assistance.
I was careful - and I could easily have made mistakes.
Some examples of where errors may occur:
1.Wrong color pen. Blue and black only. But there are 3 different instruction sets. The most useful part of the instruction set is the pictures...which are for the easiest part of the process - filling the circles and putting it in the envelope. I noticed it said nothing about pen color, which I'd read was an ongoing issue. But there were instructions about the pen color...on a small slip that has "IMPORTANT" on the top of it and then a list of additional instructions. Seems to me, it would be useful to have that pen color information on the part about filling in circles. Maybe I expect too much from people.
2. A mistake I almost made was tearing off the certification slip. There is a dotted line across it, at the top. I almost tore it off on the dotted line to put in the envelope then noticed it said "Do Not Tear". So I looked around and found the 3rd set of instructions, which explains you just fill out the certification and leave it on. So WHY is there a dotted tearing line there? No idea...definitely misleading.
3. Signatures. There are several places for signatures. There is only one for yours, as the voter. But if someone assists you, or transports it, they must sign it as well. Which makes some sense, but could theoretically mean some get disqualified if they forget or ignore this.
4. Signature. I was assured my signature will be checked to verify and avoid a false vote. Except my signature on record is 26 years old...and my signature is not the same today. I get away with that in-person as the people at the voting booth know me. Some schlub in our vote verification center does not.
I don't need to go further. The reality is that mail-in is trouble waiting to happen. In addition, the box is at the county center (you can use regular mail if you choose, but I can walk to the county center and I don't trust USPS) and while there is a video camera trained on the box, do you really think that's enough? Some sketchy guy (I know who he was and have seen him around town...but why he was at the box was beyond my comprehension) was hanging out there, just staring at it when we arrived.
I do not like, nor do I trust, the mail-in process. It is designed for fraud. I will not be at all surprised to hear many complaints.
