On Sun, 22 Feb 2026 20:27:04 -0000 (UTC), BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com>
wrote:

He did so poorly clearing the snow from the last storm that he's now asking >people to sign up and volunteer do the shoveling after the upcoming storm >clears. Imagine that. Paying all those taxes for a city department >specifically to clear snow, only to have the government beg you to do it >yourself because they ran out of money.

I'll bet that department works REAL hard in June!

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Sun, 22 Feb 2026 23:12:56 -0000 (UTC), BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com>
wrote:

I remember hearing a British commentator saying that he was pretty sure
that mail-in ballots from Muslim households were mostly being filled in
by the man of the house; he strongly suspected that the voting-age women
were either told who to vote for or the man simply filled in all their
forms on their behalf, probably without even asking them. That should
outrage at least all the feminists. It seems like a good argument for
minimizing mail-in voting so that women have to vote in person and can
then vote for whoever they like.

This was brought up in California when they proposed making mail voting >permanent after the Wuhan Flu. Not only did the Democrat politicians not care >about abused women being disenfranchised by their husbands and boyfriends, the >women's rights groups were also strangely silent about it. When it comes to >Democrats winning elections, apparently all other concerns go by the wayside.

I'm not surprised about the British comment but with respect to
elections during COVID, Canada had an election in 2021 which I voted
in. The voting line was longer than usual as we were lined up 8 feet
apart and when you got to the head of the line the only obvious change
was that the ballot box NORMALLY sits on the poll clerk's desk and you
handed the clerk your ballot which was then checked to ensure how you
voted wasn't visible when your ballot was folded BEFORE the ballot was
put in the box. In 2021 the box was on the OUTSIDE of the clerk's desk
(who was sitting behind a plexiglass screen) which you folded your own
ballot as per the poster next to the clerk, the clerk nodded when
he/she was satisfied and you were expected to slap the ballot box slot
to ensure your ballot was entirely in the box before the clerk said
"thank you for voting" (at which point you were expected to step out
of the next person's way and leave the voting line.

In other words, except for inserting your own ballot in the box pretty
much the same as usual.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Sun, 22 Feb 2026 22:58:28 -0000 (UTC), "Adam H. Kerman"
<ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

"provide your driver license number on your mail-in ballot"

No. Ballots MUST NOT have distinguing marks to mitigate against vote buying >and for privacy.

In Canada if you are voting ANYWHERE except at the ballot box on
election day your ballot is sealed in an envelope which is sealed
inside a second envelope which has the above distinguishing marks.

For instance in the last Canadian election my daughter (who lives in
the UK) has to go to the nearest Canadian consulate to vote.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 22:58:28 -0000 (UTC), Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

"provide your driver license number on your mail-in ballot"

No. Ballots MUST NOT have distinguing marks to mitigate against vote buying >>and for privacy.

In Canada if you are voting ANYWHERE except at the ballot box on
election day your ballot is sealed in an envelope which is sealed
inside a second envelope which has the above distinguishing marks.

Then that's on the application, not the ballot itself. That's used to
track the ballot to make sure that when it's cast, the voter didn't
already vote. Upon casting the ballot, separating it from it's
application, it must have no identifying marks and cannot be found among
other voted ballots.

For instance in the last Canadian election my daughter (who lives in
the UK) has to go to the nearest Canadian consulate to vote.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Fri, 6 Mar 2026 06:57:19 -0000 (UTC), "Adam H. Kerman"
<ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

In Canada if you are voting ANYWHERE except at the ballot box on
election day your ballot is sealed in an envelope which is sealed
inside a second envelope which has the above distinguishing marks.

Then that's on the application, not the ballot itself. That's used to
track the ballot to make sure that when it's cast, the voter didn't
already vote. Upon casting the ballot, separating it from it's
application, it must have no identifying marks and cannot be found among >other voted ballots.

Correct - if there are ANY identifying marks anywhere on the ballot
itself it's a "spoiled ballot" - and I believe that's the term in both
the US and Canada (and I have served as a poll scrutineer and had I
ever seen ANY mark on a ballot even a ballot folded up in the
prescribed way to ensure no one could see where the "X" was it's STILL
a spoiled ballot since it still contains an identifying mark even on
the reverse side of the ballot - and that's something EVERY scrutineer
is taught)

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)