In NY, I'm pretty sure you sign a book next to the signature you sent in when you registered to vote.

Yes, and in Brooklyn they ask for ID as well (mainly just to avoid asking "How do you spell that?" a million times a day).

But when I went to vote for the first time after I got married, and I automatically signed my new name (so the signatures didn't even match a little bit), they just said "Um...could you sign again and make it look like the old one?" So it's not exactly a secure system.

I am in the process of writing an email and trying to put all my slide deck instincts into it.

First result? Fucking massive email.

Oh, well.

So it's not exactly a secure system.

Oh sure -- it's just something between nothing and blood test.

But also in MA, the voting process looks you up in a list of street addresses before AND after you've marked up your ballot. Fake voting would mean you'd have to plan out in advance who you are impersonating, go stand in line -- and hope like hell the real person either hasn't already come in, or comes in after, because the nice little ladies manning the lists are going to notice.

You could try to impersonate the recently dead, but you'll have to hope the rolls haven't already been updated.

And of course, you'd have to be able to get enough impostors to go around to dozens of polling places (Not more than once PER, because eagle-eyed poll workers might just notice if you come in twice.)

While theoretically possible to steal an election this way, the practical aspects of doing it is actually the best protection it has.

Yes, and in Brooklyn they ask for ID as well (mainly just to avoid asking "How do you spell that?" a million times a day).

They ask for ID at my local place and it irritates me because they're not supposed to.

But despite all this, there is virtually no evidence of any significant fraud at the point of voting, anywhere.

While theoretically possible to steal an election this way, the practical aspects of doing it is actually the best protection it has.

Absolutely.

But despite all this, there is virtually no evidence of any significant fraud at the point of voting, anywhere.

I do know that.

In both NC and GA, I personally knew one or more of the precinct workers at my voting location, so I couldn't have impersonated anyone very easily! In NC my landlady/next door neighbor was the precinct captain, and in GA we voted in my kids' school gym.

I miss living in a community where I know people. I know that freaks some people out, but I love knowing my neighbors and shit like that.

In Washington, all voting is absentee by mail, now. So anyone could jack my ballot from the mailbox and fill it out as me! But they'd have to get into the mail on the right day, fill it out, buy a stamp...

Also why I feel secure voting in MA, we have a Scantron ballot system, so you fill out a paper ballot by shading in circles, then it gets fed into a networked counting device and then the paper ballot goes into a lockbox, so if there's election count issues, they can recount accurately.