Man mails ballot before triple bypass surgery, then dies

Voting for John McCain was one of the last things Lloyd Chamberlain did in this world. The 54-year-old man died on the operating table that evening. His ballot will be counted because, before his death, it was postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service. (Florida Today)

Comments

[sometimesilie]

Lloyd Chamberlain's final fu*k you to America!

[elchampino]

What's weird is different states have different rules on this: http://www.slate.com/id/2203745/

[KDP]

So, what's new? The dead have been voting for years in certain parts of the country - like New York and Chicago.

I see that this is a little different since the guy voted BEFORE he was dead.

[G-Man]

Yeah I was just reading that a little while ago elchamp. It is goofy to me that we don't have a standard set of voting rules in this country.

[Moose]

The more I read about how varied the election rules vary from state to state, I'm wondering how it is that we can still hold elections. It's a mess.

[twerp]

Dude, I totally asked this question last week!

What if somebody votes absentee and then dies--would that vote count? Should it?

[sometimesilie]

it should be just like in football and basketball- as long as you get it off before the final buzzer, it should count, totally.

[twerp]

I think it should count too, sts--all the more reason to start voting absentee from now on.

[JB]

I really hope he put as much thought and care into ensuring his children and wife are taken care of in the event of his passing and didn't saddle them with a big mortgage to maintain and too little insurance to cover it.

I wonder if Obama's grandmother was able to vote before her passing?

[nellagain]

Of course it should.

Some unlucky folks today are going to vote at the polls, walk out and then get hit by car or have a massive infarct or run into a knife and die. You want to go in and backout *their* votes?

The states set the voting period. Early decision and absentee voting are merely setting wider parameters that period. And frankly they are making it possibly logistically to *have* nation wide elections.

[jj]

the vote shouldn't count if the person won't have to suffer the consequences, but then again this is Florida we're talking about...the state that has a nice history of F'in up votes. are we sure the guy's vote didn't have a hanging chad?

coincidentally this guy was much healthier than the man he voted for.

[troschne]

Hawaii has a rule similar to Florida's. I read this morning that Obama's grandmother voted absentee before she died. I guess she cancelled out that guy. RIP, Mrs. Dunham.

[troschne]

Hawaii has a rule similar to Florida's. I read this morning that Obama's grandmother voted absentee before she died. I guess she cancelled out that guy. RIP, Mrs. Dunham.

[troschne]

Sorry for the double-post.

[twerp]

Obama's grandmother did vote before she died and her vote will count. I just read a story on it.

[MONKEY JERK]

WHAT A LOST EFFORT OF A LAST WISH.

[jj2]

The rules are different in every state because when the founders were writing the Constitution, they couldn't decide who should be allowed this awesome responsibility. Some wanted only property-owners to have the vote, others, such as Ben Franklin, though the poor could be trusted not to sell their votes. In the end, they couldn't decide, so left it up to the states. Hence, higgledy piggledy laws out there.

[R]

A vote's a vote. It should count. Only way to counter someone's vote is to do it in the same state. Our electoral college takes care of that. It's not the popular vote that counts.

[Phranqlin]

The stress of all of those horrid political ads, junk mailings, canvassings, and robocalls probably did the poor fellow in.

[RockyMtnMac]

If it were in Chicago, Obama's Grandmother and Mr Chamberlain could go vote again....

[Tex Luie]

Why do we have an official "election day?". If you are not alive on election day your vote should not count. Personally I would like to see early voting abolished. Absentee voting by people who caN PROVE THEY WILL BE UNABLE TO VOTE ON ELECTION DAY SHOULD BE THE ONLY EXCEPTION. Oops, sorry about caps. One broken arm REQUIRES ONE HANDED TYPINg.

[elchampino]

why exactly do you want early voting abolished?

[sometimesilie]

My vote cancels y'alls!

http://www.theonion.com/content/opinion/yee_haw_my_vote_cancels_out

[Sigh]

LOL on the onion article

[outofsalt]

Good for him. How many well-bodied individuals can't or won't bother to vote? Then again, if the sluggards can't bring themselves to do their civic duty once or more a year (got to count school budget elections), maybe it's a good thing.

[colaboy29]

Guess his vote didn't matter.