July 24, 2008
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The Votes of the Dead
I was just reading an article titled “Should Your Vote Still Count if You’re Dead?”
The article points out that more people are voting by sending their vote in via mail. Some states allow you to vote 60 days before an election. This gives time for the person voting to die. Here is the link: Link
Should your vote still count if you are dead?
Comments (92)
Only if you live in Chicago.
(old school references ftw)
I don’t think so…
Nope.
if you voted it should count… otherwise i may be inspired to begin assasinated rebublicans… or not.
Well, the government still sends my aunt mail, even though she’s been dead for quite some time, so I mean, if they still consider her a citizen, then hey, why not?
i think yeah…cuz you could know who you want to lead the country your children and grandchildren are going to live in, even if your not going to live in it yourself
Yeah, I think it should count, unless you knew that you were going to die within the next 60 days and you wanted to try to screw everyone over by picking the person you thought was the worst candidate. But then again that vote wouldn’t really affect much.
yes because you can still be genuinely concerned for the welfare of the country.
If you voted and sent it in when you are still alive then yeah. Call it GENERATIVITY, which is basically the need to contribute something to the next generation. It usually relates more to having offspring… but I would say this counts under the definition too. They are contributing to something that will live on after they are dead. Their vote still counts. They are still helping change things. As long as someone didn’t vote FOR them after they had died. That’s going a bit too far.
-L
Hmm…I guess it should since the vote is for the future whoever becomes president, it affects people you know who are still alive.
As long as the ballot is received prior to the time of death – no problem with me. After all, as has already been mentioned, the dead have been voting in Chicago for a long time.
no cuz no one else but you knows who you would vote for.
If you actually completed the ballot and sent it in, then it should count.
They count all the votes of the people who are dead by January anyway. I don’t get why adding another 60 days to that is so awful.
@Drakonskyr - You’re an ass munch. You told me you were famous, but like to
pretend you don’t need your subscribers’ approval. Your writing is
unclever, pointless, and self-aggrandizing in the most undeserving
ways. And I’m pretty sure you’re physically unable to please a woman like myself – your tiny pecker is misshaped, beet red, and slopes to one side when
erect. That’s what your dog tells me anyway.
When you voted, you weren’t dead yet. It should still count even if the person died before the election, since they were alive and well to cast a vote in the accepted time period.
I doubt that happens enough to make a real difference in the outcome of national elections. In our village and township elections, however, it could throw everything off.
@saintvi - LMAO!!! Too true.
I think it should count, yeah. Interesting, I never thought of this angle before….
@myawkwardlife - The question is addressing absentee ballots which can be completed and mailed in to the state well before election day. So, the state has the vote, they’re just considering not counting it because the person is by election day.
@UnVolume - If I vote on Nov. 2 and then die sometime between Nov. 2 and Jan. 1, I will have never lived to see the president inaugurated. However, no one would possibly suggest that vote shouldn’t count.
@tifflawl - Why should we have exceptions? Even if people knew they were going to die, they still might want the country to be a better place for their grandchildren.
Yes.
That backstabbing mutt!
yes, who wants to sort that mess out?
@longtimelurker - what do you mean the dead have been voting in Chicago?
I would say if their vote was already sent in, then yeah.
yes
Yes.
Xo
I think it should, because your vote should be for your home’s sake.
-CrazyKey123
How should they know? Aren’t our votes supposed to be anonymous?
Also, if you are going to not count a vote because the person has died then by the same logic why shouldn’t we keep track of the votes between election day and inauguration day and extract their vote from the count if they die in that time?
NO!
yea. they were alive when they voted.
@Zooish -
This can’t be serious but I don’t understand how it’s funny.
HOHOHO!
Merry Christmas in July! Have you been a good xangan this year? Here’s a nice Mini present! Hohoho! And to all a good night!
Well, they were obviously alive when they voted. What if someone votes at their local precinct on election day then gets in a fatal car accident as they leave the parking lot? Should their vote still count? I think it should.
Plus having to pull out the votes from all the people who died sounds like a lot of time and effort for something that would make little difference in the election. Also gives fodder for more potential election scams. “I demand a re-count!” Anyone? Anyone? Beuller?
@mkenyon719 - Sounds like you need to read up on the history of political corruption in Chicago
yes. . . they made their decision concerning their vote. why is it any less of a vote than any other early ballot?
Well, as long as you were alive when the vote was sent in (not like a member of the family voted for you using your ballot), then it should count.
Yes, it should be counted. Just as mine should if I were to drop dead walking out of the doors from having just voted
I guess people who want to respect the dead would say yes. But really if they’re dead then who the president is won’t affect them at all and it also doesn’t matter to them at all, so no, I’d much sooner count an illegal aliens vote than a dead person’s.
Yes.
If I die, my comment still counts.
No because it’s unfair for the people that actually have to live with the voted person.
Yeah, if they let you vote early, then a vote is a vote.
(good reply Drak)
Yeppp definitely. Passing away doesn’t take away your right to vote, unless you are physically unable to do so.
Yes.
@Zooish - But which side? The genius is in the details.
@Zooish - but he’s still important enough to receive public bashing and off topic comments from broads like you!
oh, and in this scenario, i don’t think they would really be counted as dead, since their vote was obviously made when they were alive
Yes. People die. It happens. Not enough people are going to die in this specific situation to make any real difference in the election’s outcome – either way we handle it.
wow, what a tough question! i never thought about this before. I mean, the government should be for the people, but if those certain people are dead… then i think the votes should not be counted. I was thinking about how the passed-away-voter would still want that candidate for his/her young kids…. but most of those people that pass away are probably old enough that their kids are 18 or over anyways! They can choose for themselves.
yes, if in fact it is they who are actually voting. Here in Miami – Dade County, all vote. especially those dead a few year. Manyh also keep collecting various medicare, etc.
It won’t make a big difference and would be lots of work to pick them out, so counting them is ok.
no… it’s courteous to count their vote, but their opinions doesn’t matter anymore after that.
If the were alive when they voted. It should count. It is essentially the same as if someone died just after leaving their polling place. Their vote should count.
I didn’t think about that….But I think that it should, as you were alive when you casted your vote…so you might die, but your vote doesn’t…….
If they were willing to count it when it was sent in 60 days before the election, then yeah, it should count even if they die.
I mean, it’s not like they’re allowed to change it if they don’t die.
Well, if the ballot was cast, yes. This is assuming that ballots aren’t being sent to the dead. Which maybe is completely and foolishly optimistic on my part.
A lot of people that vote are apparently “brain dead”…so I guess it doesn’t matter.
yes
I think it should count…what if you die on the way home for regular voting, should your vote not count then too?
If you died after voting at least a day or two after sure enough!
@la_faerie_joyeuse - Yes, I agree. That being the case, all the votes should count even if it was made 60 days before the election and the person has died.
By the way, how much work would it take to weed out all the votes of people who had died? Would that make the whole process of counting the votes longer?
@longtimelurker - Well, why couldn’t you have just given a brief response about the dead in Chicago voting?
YES
it’s absurd to spend the effort to invalidate votes that were placed validly in accordance with the rules of the system. If the system says you can vote up to 60 days before the election so long as you voted within that time frame your vote is a legitimate vote. It’d be a total waste of money to remove them not to mention it would be somewhat cruel and wrong.
I mean think of it this way what if there was a re-count of the vote, should you then remove every vote placed between voting day and the day of the re-count of anyone who has died in the mean time? No of course not!
Now if you’re talking about people who are years or many months dead and someone else is voting for them saying that they know what the person “would have” wanted, well obviously that’s just stupid and unfair and shouldn’t be allowed.
Yes…the vote was cast as they lived and breathed. They will probably have family left behind and want a better world for those they love(d), usually. If the government provides for such an option..then they should honor it.
@la_faerie_joyeuse - Good point.
I think each person’s vote is a part of her legacy. All votes should be counted, as long as the manner in which they were cast is within legal limits.
@UnVolume - It would take a LOT of work, not because it’s particularly difficult, but because the government is involved.
And yes, there would be even more room for voting fraud.
yeah
Why not? They’ve been doing it in Texas for years, counting the votes of people who have been dead for decades. . . .
Seriously, though, I prefer the way New York does it. We still use the old-fashioned voting booth machines, which are harder to alter votes than those new electronic machines, and we require voters to sign their names in the registration book. It all helps to keep voter fraud to a minimum.
I want my vote to count when I’m dead, I mean, if I have taken the trouble to vote and all.
Well, yes, cos its recieved and the dead should not be denied their right to vote…
Maybe thats how Bush won…TWICE.
Yes
@bite_me_jerk - lol
You’re probably right
I don’t that some states allows their citizen to vote 60 days before election. Should it count no but, would they yes. It’s just to messy to follow up on each person and taking out that vote.
I’d say yes
why discriminate against the almost-dead
Yes! As long as the person was alive when they filled out the ballet!
No. If you’re dead you won’t be living in a state affected by the outcome of the vote. Adding your vote to the majority would not make it truly representative of the people affected by the outcome.
However, if a dead person’s vote didn’t count, I could just see the Mafia taking out absentee voters. Not good.
Where do you FIND all these oddly apropriate photos?
Yes, it should count if it were post marked beofre the date of death.
If you are not alive on the day the voting is cast, it should be null in void. Otherwise, how is it any difference than a scandal of using dead peoples names to sway votes?
nah.
yes zombies should have rights too
we need to let prisoners/felons and homeless people vote first.
Yes.
It should count if you mailed the vote. However, if you died twenty years ago, and some stranger is now using your name to vote… nooo.
No, because you’re dead– but this has been going on forever I doubt there is a true way to stop it.
if you can vote twice.
if you can vote when mentally challenged.
if you can vote when you are underage.
if you can vote while in the grave.
i don’t see we need to restrict the vote of a person on the way to grave.
Yes. It would be awfly hard to take a census around election time to see if the voters are dead or not. Go on a tangeant with me for a moment. One would have to ask themselves how many people have voted, on election day, and within hours or a day end up dead because of an accident, heart attack, stroke, or whatever other way a person could die. I’m sure the electoral colledge would have a field day trying to make sure every vote that was counted, belonged to a living person. Get real folks! Of course this line of thinking may have been what got Bush Jr. into office when the State of Florida had to recount their votes. It wasn’t the ballots that were messed up, it was that they were not sure every voter was alive when the votes were counted. Or maybe they just wanted to get all the voters that turned 18 on November 4th that year.
No, because they would not be the ones living with the consequences of their actions.
hahahh. yep.
No No No no no no no
Sure, it should count. It could even be considered a “dying wish,” if you want to look at it that way. If the vote was cast legitimately, then it shouldn’t be taken back.
Of course it should still count. When people vote, they’re voting for the future. As long as the vote was not forged for an already dead person, then I don’t see why not.