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Tuesday, November 02, 2010

In Honor of Election Day...

...and without espousing any political opinions (this is my blog and I make the rules), would any of you out there allow your husband/wife to fill out your absentee ballot?

A co-worker mentioned to me today that she and her husband both vote through absentee ballots, and she always just lets him fill hers out for her. ???? I'm sure my jaw dropped and my brows hit the roof when she said it. It really shocked and bothered me, even though I know that her husband's political beliefs are closer to mine than hers. I can't imagine handing over my vote to someone else, let alone to someone that I knew had different views. To me, it's like stepping back in time to when women didn't have voting rights. The suffragettes fought for us, don't let them down! Use your American rights to influence the country, and be happy that we live in a place that gives us that right. Don't take it for granted, and don't give it away! (And, don't air your grievances if you didn't truly provide your own input.) Honestly, I think letting someone else complete your ballot is worse than not voting at all, as I see it as akin to stuffing a ballot box.

So, I don't care what your beliefs are - go vote and be heard! (And own your own vote - don't give it away!)

*Please keep your comments non-partisan and friendly - thank you.*

5 comments:

Laura said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Laura said...

No way Tami, I take my right to vote very seriously and I wouldn't turn it over to anyone to take care of, not even my husband.

Kailyn said...

What Sailorchick said. While I might respect your opinion, in the end it's my ballot. As such I will complete it myself. Because this isn't the 1950s. We women have brains and can make decisions on our own. We don't need men to tell us how to think. I mean we may discuss stuff with them but in the end, we make the decision.

Joie said...

In general Tami, I totally agree with you. I find it strange that someone would let someone else fill in their ballot.

But, let me play devil's advocate, this is purely theoretical, and keeping in mind that I believe election tampering is a crime... My husband is empowered to make life and death medical decisions about me, hopefully how I would wish. I trust him to do this for me. If for some unusual reason I was unable to fill out my ballot myself, would I trust him to carry out my wishes on that as well? If I trust him with my life, how can I not trust him to carry out other important wishes on my behalf (even if we disagreed)?

But in general he wouldn't dream of touching my ballot. Not if he wants to keep his fingers, anyway... :)

Tami said...

I'm glad I wasn't the only one shocked by this. And yes Joie - I also agree that the situation might be different if you were somehow incapacitated (though if that were the case, I still think if the person whose name is on the ballot is unable to vote, then no one else should be able to vote for them). However, if the person's mental state is sound, and they can direct someone to fill out their ballot exactly as they would, that might be acceptable. (I'm sure there is a system in place for this already to accommodate disabled voters who are of sound mind.) Otherwise, hands off!

As for my co-worker, there is no physical reason that she could not fill out her own ballot, and the way she put it to me was that she had "sold her vote." Apparently, her husband owed her dinner for doing it. It still kind of makes me ill.