(10-28-2020 03:29 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  

(10-28-2020 02:47 PM)JimTiger Wrote:  Are you saying in Texas they take a picture of your ID when you vote and link it with your ballot?

I can't tell you exactly what happens behind the scenes. What I can tell you is that they scanned my ID and my registration information appeared on their screen. It told them I had voted already. Because my ID was valid, they went in the back and made some calls. They then came back and said that yes, indeed when my father had voted, they clicked on my information on their screen. He had to come back and 're-sign' the computer in order to validate his ballot, and I then voted under my information.

I don't know if it was linked with the ballot, or if it was simply linked to a 'transaction number' that was linked to a ballot.

Certainly had I not known whom had voted in my name, it seems they would have had a way to invalidate that ballot number, even if they couldn't see whom he voted for... if that is what you are asking. It would make sense that the two systems wouldn't talk, other than to have a consistent ballot number on both systems. This would keep people from being able to hack just the voting booth. They'd also have to hack the registration system.

Said differently... ballots tied to a transaction without a registered voter would not be counted... and registered voters with a transaction number not tied to a ballot would not be counted. I'm guessing, but that makes some sense in terms of keeping the two systems secure.

But the ID was important and that's what fixed the problem right?

Liiiike, if their system was just to type in names into the computer rather than scan IDs they never would've figured it out and would've have had to throw out Pop's vote right?

(10-28-2020 06:53 PM)JimTiger Wrote:  

(10-28-2020 03:29 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  

(10-28-2020 02:47 PM)JimTiger Wrote:  Are you saying in Texas they take a picture of your ID when you vote and link it with your ballot?

I can't tell you exactly what happens behind the scenes. What I can tell you is that they scanned my ID and my registration information appeared on their screen. It told them I had voted already. Because my ID was valid, they went in the back and made some calls. They then came back and said that yes, indeed when my father had voted, they clicked on my information on their screen. He had to come back and 're-sign' the computer in order to validate his ballot, and I then voted under my information.

I don't know if it was linked with the ballot, or if it was simply linked to a 'transaction number' that was linked to a ballot.

Certainly had I not known whom had voted in my name, it seems they would have had a way to invalidate that ballot number, even if they couldn't see whom he voted for... if that is what you are asking. It would make sense that the two systems wouldn't talk, other than to have a consistent ballot number on both systems. This would keep people from being able to hack just the voting booth. They'd also have to hack the registration system.

Said differently... ballots tied to a transaction without a registered voter would not be counted... and registered voters with a transaction number not tied to a ballot would not be counted. I'm guessing, but that makes some sense in terms of keeping the two systems secure.

But the ID was important and that's what fixed the problem right?

Liiiike, if their system was just to type in names into the computer rather than scan IDs they never would've figured it out and would've have had to throw out Pop's vote right?

Exactly. Or if I hadn't had an ID, they would have kept his and I couldn't have voted.... so voter ID was necessary either way

And if it had been fraud, how would we have caught him? People always say there is no evidence of in person voter fraud... and this was a mistake, not fraud... but had the mistake been with someone I didn't know (or not a mistake at all), and if they didn't have an ID to match it to... or if I had been dead and thus not voted, how would you catch them? As has often been said, you can't investigate a crime that you have almost no way of catching. Someone committing fraud would most likely use a dead or infirmed person, and not someone who just a month ago updated their voter registration.

(10-29-2020 08:48 AM)Hambone10 Wrote:  

(10-28-2020 06:53 PM)JimTiger Wrote:  

(10-28-2020 03:29 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  

(10-28-2020 02:47 PM)JimTiger Wrote:  Are you saying in Texas they take a picture of your ID when you vote and link it with your ballot?

I can't tell you exactly what happens behind the scenes. What I can tell you is that they scanned my ID and my registration information appeared on their screen. It told them I had voted already. Because my ID was valid, they went in the back and made some calls. They then came back and said that yes, indeed when my father had voted, they clicked on my information on their screen. He had to come back and 're-sign' the computer in order to validate his ballot, and I then voted under my information.

I don't know if it was linked with the ballot, or if it was simply linked to a 'transaction number' that was linked to a ballot.

Certainly had I not known whom had voted in my name, it seems they would have had a way to invalidate that ballot number, even if they couldn't see whom he voted for... if that is what you are asking. It would make sense that the two systems wouldn't talk, other than to have a consistent ballot number on both systems. This would keep people from being able to hack just the voting booth. They'd also have to hack the registration system.

Said differently... ballots tied to a transaction without a registered voter would not be counted... and registered voters with a transaction number not tied to a ballot would not be counted. I'm guessing, but that makes some sense in terms of keeping the two systems secure.

But the ID was important and that's what fixed the problem right?

Liiiike, if their system was just to type in names into the computer rather than scan IDs they never would've figured it out and would've have had to throw out Pop's vote right?

Exactly. Or if I hadn't had an ID, they would have kept his and I couldn't have voted.... so voter ID was necessary either way

And if it had been fraud, how would we have caught him? People always say there is no evidence of in person voter fraud... and this was a mistake, not fraud... but had the mistake been with someone I didn't know (or not a mistake at all), and if they didn't have an ID to match it to... or if I had been dead and thus not voted, how would you catch them? As has often been said, you can't investigate a crime that you have almost no way of catching. Someone committing fraud would most likely use a dead or infirmed person, and not someone who just a month ago updated their voter registration.

But wait, now this has me twisted up.

Isn't like the important part that Pops and you went together, and he said "I'm Hambone Sr. and I voted" and you said "I'm Hambone Jr. and I din't vote yet". And then they zipped into the computer and they said hold up, wait, we're showing the reverse on that, we're showing that Hambone Jr. already voted and Hambone Sr. didn't vote yet? And then they flip-flopped it to fix it?

Now I'm like couldn't they do all that without the ID's in Texas? I think I got hung up thinking they had a pciture of the actual ID that went with the actual vote and they could fix it without Pops even coming by.

Like, if it's like here in N Carolina where they just ask for your name and address and they check you against precinct rolls, I think they'd do the same correction switcheroo if you're both there together.

Somehow the case of Hambone Jr. and Sr. talking with their friendly poll monitor reminds me of a story my Dad liked to tell about his little hometown and its eerily helpful telephone operator. In the days before direct dialing, when you picked up the phone, you told the operator who you wanted to talk with, as in "Mabel, please connect me to Bill." My Dad's town was so small that the operator would reply, "Oh, he's over at Jim's house; I'll put you through."

Two other stories my Dad like to tell about his hometown:
- There was no reliable map of the water and sewer lines. Instead, the town relied on a man named Johnny, who was there when they were installed and knew where everything was. There was no plan for what to do when Johnny was gone.
- The town fire department had a reputation for being quite slow to respond, arriving at a burning house just in time to hose down the brick rubble that remained. They were sarcastically known as the "chimney-saving department."

I have no idea if these stories were true, and I guess it doesn't really matter. But I do know that the house my Dad grew up in burned to the ground some 20 years ago, and indeed all that's left are the brick piers and the chimney.

(10-31-2020 03:24 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  I have no idea if these stories were true, and I guess it doesn't really matter.

They were true.

(10-31-2020 03:09 PM)JimTiger Wrote:  But wait, now this has me twisted up.

Isn't like the important part that Pops and you went together, and he said "I'm Hambone Sr. and I voted" and you said "I'm Hambone Jr. and I din't vote yet". And then they zipped into the computer and they said hold up, wait, we're showing the reverse on that, we're showing that Hambone Jr. already voted and Hambone Sr. didn't vote yet? And then they flip-flopped it to fix it?

Now I'm like couldn't they do all that without the ID's in Texas? I think I got hung up thinking they had a pciture of the actual ID that went with the actual vote and they could fix it without Pops even coming by.

Like, if it's like here in N Carolina where they just ask for your name and address and they check you against precinct rolls, I think they'd do the same correction switcheroo if you're both there together.

We didn't originally go together. Originally, I showed up, they scanned my ID and the system told them that I had already voted. They went into the other room and did something, and came back and told me that it appeared that my dad had voted, but that they had assigned his vote to my registration. Because of course they knew I knew him, they asked if he was available to come sign the new form. If he hadn't been, they would have discarded his ballot.

Now you want the REALLY crazy thing? My dad was born in Houma Louisiana in the 1930's. The bureau of vital records has been flooded dozens of times since then, and often with paper records. His father died when he was 6, and he was adopted by his mother's second Husband in Texas. His 'official' birth certificate was issued in about 1940 by the State of Texas. They crossed off the word Texas and manually typed in Louisiana... and listed his 'birth' father as his adopted father. That was good enough to get him into Annapolis and a Drivers license in 11 states, but when he went to renew the Texas license he'd held for 30 years, it wouldn't fly today. My parents couldn't figure out what to do, but it only took me about 15 minutes and $12 to find a service that could get a Louisiana Birth Certificate for him. Not bad considering none had been issued since the original which had been destroyed in Houma floods 80 years ago.

Bottom line, ID allowed us to vote correctly, to correct what was likely an honest mistake, but could have been a big problem.... and few would have bigger issues getting bc's than my parents. My mother was born in Hawaii, before it was a state.