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You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Hold onto your mail-in ballots?

Hold onto your mail-in ballots?

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Florida voters who requested a vote-by-mail ballot received them this week. My husband was among them. (I prefer showing up at the polling place in person, so I’ll be doing that on March 17.) The Tampa Bay Times editorial board took the unusual step of asking its vote-by-mail readers to hold onto their ballots:

Florida Democrats, don’t mail that presidential primary ballot | Editorial
The race is too fluid and the stakes are too high to vote now for a candidate who may not be viable by the March 17 primary.

More than a million Florida Democrats have been sent their mail ballots for the March 17 presidential primary, but they should let those ballots sit on the hall table or the kitchen counter for a bit. The race for the Democratic nomination is too fluid for Florida Democrats to pick a candidate now who may not be competitive by Election Day. They should not waste their votes, and they should keep their eye on the goal: Backing the candidate who has the best shot at beating President Donald Trump in November…

The first two states are hardly reflective of Florida or the nation. They are small, overwhelmingly white and lack any urban area as large as Tampa Bay. In fact, Tampa Bay alone has twice the population of New Hampshire and matches the population of Iowa. More Tampa voters cast ballots in last year’s run-off for mayor than Bernie Sanders received as the top finisher in raw votes in the Iowa caucuses. So Democrats should keep the results of the first two contests in perspective…

Let’s see more election results. Let’s see who convinces more Democrats in more diverse states they can best challenge Trump. Let’s see who builds momentum and who fades. Florida Democrats, don’t mail those ballots yet.

The editorial board also declined to endorse a candidate as they usually do the week ballots are mailed; they say they’re in wait-and-see mode too. Fascinating. I understand why they’re doing this, but I hope FL Democrats who heed their advice don’t lose their ballots!

 

Reader Interactions

98Comments

  1. 1.

    debbie

    Whatever you mail-in ballot-holders decide to do, don’t give them to some clown who comes to your door and offers to submit them for you!

  2. 2.

    Don K

    MI votes March 10, and my husband and I are holding onto our absentee ballots until after Super Tuesday for just that reason. Once it’s clear who is still in the race on March 4, we’ll mark the ballots and I’ll drop them off at the township hall. In the meantime, they’re sitting in their envelopes on the dining-room table.

  3. 3.

    download my app in the app store mistermix

    Laura, a commenter from California, also said she’s seeing the same thing among her friends in a thread yesterday — all the dropping out and changes make them want to hold on to their ballots for a while.  That surprises me since I would be the kind to turn it around right away to guard against losing it.

  4. 4.

    Betty Cracker

    @debbie: I hear about stuff like that happening every year! One great thing about living in a forested swamp is that we don’t get canvassers, door-to-door salespeople, religion-peddlers, would-be vote thieves, etc.

  7. 7.

    Baud

    @Betty Cracker:

    One great thing about living in a forested swamp is that we don’t get canvassers, door-to-door salespeople, religion-peddlers, would-be vote thieves, etc.

    The alligators don’t seem so bad when you put it like that.

  10. 10.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Betty Cracker:

    That’s looking at the positive side!

    I had a good two days at Capricon but I’m staying home today because I am old and I am not used to having to be social all day. My best con moment was making people cry at my short story reading. Oh, and also having coffee and conversation with BJer Kristine.

  11. 11.

    debbie

    @Sab:

    Are you mailing in? I’m thinking about voting early. I like the ritual of voting on Election Day, but something’s telling me that weather could be an issue.

  12. 12.

    charon

    It isn’t just dropouts, also who can get past the 15% threshhold.

    I wonder if there are many voters who don’t understand the 15% barrier, let alone the rest of the delegate allocation method.

  15. 15.

    Starfish

    All of Colorado is vote-by-mail, and “Did I hold onto my ballot because I need to hear more horse race nonsense from pundits before I fill my ballot?” No.

    I put in my vote for Elizabeth Warren and told my husband to take it to the box where the votes are collected.

    Then the Elizabeth Warren folks started aggressively texting people to get them to canvass, and it was too much of signing up people who did not want to sign up and asking me to go canvass when I am sick with probably the flu. I am low-key annoyed. But I am not letting my vote be decided by Iowa, New Hampshire, or Nevada.

    I am not convinced that she is going to drop before super-Tuesday.

    Do I want to wait to see if all the Bloomberg curiosity pans out for some folks? No.

  18. 18.

    Shalimar

    I am holding on to my ballot for now because I think anyone other than Bernie and Bloomberg could drop out with a terrible Super Tuesday and I’m not voting for either of those two in a primary ever.

  19. 19.

    Geminid

    Virginia moved it’s primary up to Super Tuesday so I will vote for Warren March 3. But I wish we voted a couple weeks later.                                                                    Yesterday I was wondering at how all of a sudden people are acting like a Bloomberg nomination is inevitable. Then a friend in Atlanta texted me about the Hillary VP rumor, and I texted back no, I think it will be Booker, and I thought  oh shit, now I’m doing it.

  21. 21.

    Percysowner

    @Starfish: I’m pretty sure she is going to hold on until Super Tuesday. She already has an organization up and running in Ohio, so that’s a good sign. Early voting starts here next week. I may hold off because my schedule is weird, but I’m planning on voting for Elizabeth no matter what.

  24. 24.

    WereBear

    @charon:

    I wonder if there are many voters who don’t understand the 15% barrier, let alone the rest of the delegate allocation method.

     

    I get a lot of rueful laughs and some astonished looks when I say things like, “How old am I? I remember when the press would EXPLAIN things. You know. Information. In articles.”

    On the other hand, most of us have the Library at Alexandria close to hand, so there really is no excuse for ignorance. OR indifference. For so many things, we don’t have to wonder or guess!

  28. 28.

    jeffreyw

    Illinois votes 17 March and we always go in person.  I probably won’t firm up my choice till then but Warren is at the top of my list right now.

  29. 29.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Geminid: As I said yesterday when this Bloomberg is considering HRC as vice president stuff came up, I am considering Eva Green as my second wife.

  30. 30.

    WaterGirl

    @Betty Cracker: I tried to tell my sister what a discouraging week it was with all the retaliations, etc.  Her response:

    You know I don’t pay attention to any of that stuff.

    And then she changed the subject.  :: sigh ::

  35. 35.

    mrmoshpotato

    I’m holding onto my ballot too.  I know who I’ll vote for for Congress, Senate, etc, but the Presidential primary is still musical chairs.

  36. 36.

    West of the Rockies

    Californian here (nnnwhutrrryou doing here?)…  I put my mail-in vote last week, going EW.  I wish it had been for Harris.  I’d be okay with Joe.  Pete is too inexperienced IMO presently.  Bloomberg?  Well, he does seem to take climate change seriously.  Can’t go BS.  If that’s who it ultimately is, so be it.

    I hope I didn’t waste my vote on EW.

  37. 37.

    Juice Box

    I’m sitting on my ballot. I’ve filled out everything but the first race. I keep thinking that if AK is surging, I might regret not voting for her, but I prefer EW. I’m not used to having my California vote be meaningful.

  38. 38.

    germy

    @WaterGirl:

     I am apparently talking to myself again!

    You’re not talking to yourself. . .    I’m just sitting here listening to you and nodding my head.

  41. 41.

    Geminid

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:  as it happens, my Atlanta friend is a big Hillary fan. He liked the idea of her as VP a lot. He was detached and estranged from politics until Trump came along. Has since become obsessed with the guy, kind of like Ahab and the great orange whale.

  42. 42.

    Another Scott

    I keep remembering how many candidates in the past were going to run away with a nomination because they had so much money and/or all the big political operatives behind them.

    John Connally

    Phil Gramm

    Howard Dean

    JEB!

    Etc.

    What matters is votes.  Your vote is precious.  Use it wisely, and don’t ever think that it doesn’t matter.  All the money in the world doesn’t mean a thing if they can’t get the votes from real people.  Don’t give up and give it to them out of fear or resignation.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  44. 44.

    prufrock

    The Pinellas County supervisor of elections office is a mile from my job, so I never mail in my mail in ballot. I can hold onto it for a couple of weeks.

  45. 45.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @WereBear: On the other hand, most of us have the Library at Alexandria close to hand, so there really is no excuse for ignorance. OR indifference. For so many things, we don’t have to wonder or guess!

    I think that you are being more than a bit harsh.

  47. 47.

    Miss Bianca

    @TaMara (HFG): Aw, crap, really? And I will have to work next Sunday for the concessionaire at the theater! Hmm…her husband is our county’s Democratic Party chairman. Could it be that…? Nah!

  51. 51.

    BR

    @Cacti:

    I dunno — I’ve seen a lot of folks talking about these Bloomberg ads but they don’t do anything for me.  It’s like, yeah, we know all these things — where have you (Bloomberg) been the last 5 years?

  52. 52.

    Another Scott

    @BR: Yeah, I didn’t see ex-Mayor Mike at the Women’s March in January 2017.  I wonder why he wasn’t there??

    (groucho-roll-eyes.gif)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  53. 53.

    BR

    @Another Scott:

    That’s not really what I mean — more that his ads are saying the things everyone knows.  If he were hammering the admin on the tax cut for the wealthy, which is one of the most unpopular things they did, that’d be actually useful for Dems overall.

  62. 62.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @germy:

    A new Warren ad in Las Vegas this morning features Barack Obama

    hallelujah! hallelujah! somebody who’s not Biden or Bloomberg figures out that Obama is actually popular! and that popular things are good!

  64. 64.

    debbie

    @BR:

    I think their value lies in saying the things about Trump that could alienate moderates from the more viable candidates.

  66. 66.

    BR

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I don’t think they are doing so on purpose, only that there are people who don’t care about policy and are disengaged voters but who believe “he’s tough, he fights for me”, and while these ads may play well to some Dems, it also reinforces the message to those GOP-leaning disengaged voters.

  67. 67.

    laura

    My disappointment about being denied an opportunity to vote for Kamala Harris hasn’t abated on iota. I blame the extended clusterfail that is “the debates” and Citizens United. I’m waiting to see how the pre super Tuesday results come in – and our ballots are safely stashed in high vis / low cat contact location. My gut keeps telling me that part of the bernsurging is cross party voting, and not solely due to Democrat support. Every day for the last two weeks I’ve been receiving texts from both in and out of state numbers urging me to vote bernie despite never signing up with the campaign and agreeing to be contacted as I’d done with the Harris campaign. Anyone else getting the unsolicited hard sell?

  68. 68.

    Elizabelle

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: 

    I really wish that Obama would endorse Elizabeth Warren. Pipe dream, perhaps, but she’s the best in the race and there is a real danger if it ends up Bernie v. Bloomberg. I doubt Obama would like either of those nominees.

    This is, actually, the most important election of our lifetimes. We have never faced such danger from a “president” and those who support and enable him.

  71. 71.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Elizabelle: I took his comments from a few weeks ago, when he said old white guys should get out of the way, and the world would be better off it were run by women, to be a quasi-endorsement.

    But I also wish Warren had spent more time studying the realities of the Obama presidency, and the results of the 2018 election

  72. 72.

    Miss Bianca

    @laura: Yep. I found that telling them to fuck off and then blocking the # as spam has helped a bit with that Bernie text problem.

  73. 73.

    Geminid

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I wish Warren had made climate change policy a signature issue, and stressed the positive aspects of investing in clean energy and conservation. A sustainable environment, and jobs too. Its a winning issue, a positive issue, and she is best when she is positive.

  74. 74.

    Ben Cisco

    @laura: Didn’t get the hard sell, but it was unsolicited. I also supported Harris, and am in agreement with you regarding the Bernie’s surge.

    It’s no secret that Republicans have been encouraged to vote for him in the Dem primaries where they are allowed to either do so outright or change affiliations jussssst long enough to cast that vote.

    Alabama is up soon.

  76. 76.

    Fair Economist

    Also in Cali, sitting on my ballot until I have a better idea of who is most likely to clear 15%. I’ll vote for Warren unless Klobuchar is well ahead of her. For the rest, I don’t really care, and if neither Warren nor Klobuchar is likely to make it I’ll vote Warren. I could perhaps change my mind and vote for Biden or Buttigieg then. Sanders or Bloomberg, never in the primary. BlueNoMatterWho in the general, of course.

  78. 78.

    Fair Economist

    @laura: Bernie has not been surging in the actual votes. He came in below expectations and polling in both Iowa and NH – quite a surprise given there were lots of undecided voters. He is up in the polls and prediction markets, but not yet in the voting booth.

  80. 80.

    laura

    @Miss Bianca: when they first started I’d engage by replying I planned to vote for a democrat and ask if they’d support the nominee and in response I’d get the combo platter of bernie caucuses with the dem party and no committment to vote for notbernie in the general. Also, blocking numbers hasn’t slowed down the contact At All. They’re coming from in and out of state. Fair Economist – that’s what I’m seeing too. Lots of smoke not much fire.

  81. 81.

    Jinchi

    The race is too fluid and the stakes are too high to vote now for a candidate who may not be viable by the March 17 primary.

    I really don’t understand this level of panic voting by Democrats. We’ve got a great slate of candidates this year and manage to live through every other election without knowing whether our favorite candidate will be ‘viable’ by the end of the night. Newspapers need to get out of the endorsement business if they can’t manage to pick the best candidate.

    If you have a mail-in ballot and know who you’d like to be the nominee,  then just vote for your favorite, people. Stop trying to play 11-dimensional chess with the nomination.

  82. 82.

    Scout211

    Since I voted by mail for Edwards (sorry about that, I was an idiot) and then he dropped out for obvious reasons, I was also worried that voting early would not be the best strategy. But my husband and I decided to follow the advice of “vote for your favorite in the primary and whoever is left in November.”  We both voted Warren, with no regrets.

  83. 83.

    Kathleen

    @Fair Economist: Per the Political Propatainment Complex the only “votes that matter” (trademark) are those of white people who are polled and whose responses can be manipulated by pundits to mean “Bernie Sanders will win”. Actual votes, especially when cast by African Americans, not so much.

  85. 85.

    klokanek

    Just freaked out that I’m overseas and haven’t yet received anything about my primary ballot, and so I went online (Bay County), and it *looks* like I can vote online, rather than sending in paper ballots as I did in 2018. Gonna scroll through all of the replies and see if anyone else is overseas and check for sure–there are a LOT of candidates on the ballot who are toast, and so I am happy to wait a bit longer. Thanks, Betty!

  86. 86.

    Marcopolo

    @klokanek: There is no way to legally vote on line in any election in the US (outside of something like American idol).

    Wherever you read this is wrong.

    Typically your options are mail in or absentee ballot, voting early at a special early vote location, or voting in your actual polling location on Election Day.

  87. 87.

    (((CassandraLeo)))

    We must’ve gotten our ballots super early in Sarasota County – I’ve already sent mine in. ¯\(°_o)/¯ Other Floridians’ ballots have races other than the presidential race, though? Maybe it’s just that some of you live in areas where there are more than two elected Democrats (Margaret Good, current state representative who’s challenging Vern Buchanan in the national election this year; and Barbara Ford-Coates, who’s been the tax collector since before I moved here).

    Voted for Warren, of course. Klobuchar would probably be my #2 choice at this point, even though I agree much more with Sanders from a policy standpoint; I’m simply not sure Sanders has the temperament we need in these times.

    @Marcopolo: I’m studying IT security, and suffice it to say, online voting is a terrible idea. There is no way to make electronic voting of any kind secure without a paper trail; otherwise you have only a record of ones and zeroes that may or may not correspond to voters’ actual input. Paper and pen are the only remotely secure voting method.

    Cēterum cēnseō factiōnem Rēpublicānam esse dēlendam.

  89. 89.

    J R in WV

     

    The vintage photography and film of Paris from the 1800s is amazing, thanks for sharing that with us!

  90. 90.

    Marcopolo

    As for the idea of holding onto one’s mail in ballot instead of just completing it and mailing sending it off. I suppose there is the possibility that after NV & SC one or more folks will pull the plug so I get it that if you really want to make sure your vote counts you might want to wait.

    But I still think the idea of being able to cast a vote for someone I really actually like, and screw the “strategic” eleven dimensional gaming, is the way to go. Fuck, that is what primaries are for. Beyond being able to feel great about the candidates I vote for in a primary I don’t believe my 1 vote has any special weight or significance in the broader election that will be decided by a hell of a lot of folks who are paying a hell of a lot less attention to candidates & their issues than I am (I accept this–am not whinging about it just acknowledging reality here).

  91. 91.

    WaterGirl

    @Marcopolo: That’s what primaries are for in normal years.  But this year, we don’t have the luxury of making our statement with an early vote for someone who won’t be in the race for long.

    We need for every single vote to go to someone who is still in the race.

  92. 92.

    Marcopolo

    @Scout211: So glad to know I wasn’t the only person who fell for Edwards “two America’s palaver.”  He ended his campaign (I’m remembering by early Feb or around then) well before my state’s primary election date, however, and I wound up voting for Obama.

  94. 94.

    Shakti

    @Betty Cracker:  I’m either going to drop it off or do a mail in ballot. Thanks to my parents and Florida Real ID laws, the name on the voter rolls is not the exact same as the one on my driver’s license.

     

    I don’t want to wait until March 17th though. Too many people trying to drink on amateur night.

  95. 95.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Ben Cisco: I dont get the hard sell anymore (in CA). Was also a Harris supporter, and am disappointed I can’t  vote for her – but I’m happy to vote for Warren or Klobuchar. Blue in November. of course.

     

    I suspect I don’t get stuff from Bernie’s campaign because I used to, and fairly often – and then I told them to stop contacting me until Nina Turner had been kicked out of the campaign because she was someone who had literally campaigned against Hillary in the general and she was demonstrating extremely bad judgment by Bernie.

     

    Havent gotten a text since.

  96. 96.

    fancycwabs

    Yeah, I early voted for Warren in Tennessee so I wouldn’t have to show up on Super Tuesday only to discover I was left with Bloomberg v. Bernie.

    Slightly related–how would primaries where everyone who gets above whatever threshold gets awarded delegates in an instant runoff / ranked choice situation?

  97. 97.

    Diceros bicornis

    @klokanek:  As an American living outside the US you can vote both in the primary and in the general election. There is a Democratic Global Presidential Primary taking place between 18 February and 10 March and yes, you can vote online or in person if there is a voting center open near you. (We can elect a whole set of delegates as if we are a state!) You must be a member of Democrats Abroad to participate…sign up here. Also, you can register to vote & request your ballot for November at VoteFromAbroad.org. (Yep there are jackals abroad working to GOTV overseas!)

  98. 98.

    Tehanu

    Another Californian, me, and I’m probably going to hold off mailing my ballot until March 3, which is election day.  I’m voting for Warren barring some kind of disaster.  At this point I think it’s more important to vote for who you want, not who you think (or rather, guess) is going to win, on the basis that when it comes to the future, to quote William Goldman, Nobody Knows Anything.  In my experience that nearly always holds true, and besides, I hate and loathe the whole horse-race, polls-say, aspect of elections.  Anyway, I’ll vote in the general for the Democratic nominee even if I have to hold my nose to do it. I’m much more worried about (or perhaps “invested in” would be more accurate) what’s going to happen re the Senate anyway.

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