What about voting by mail? And what about your testing experiences?

This past week on the Appeal Facebook page, we asked about whether voting by mail will really be a big issue. We also asked people to relay their experiences with COVID-19 testing. Some of the responses:

Voting by Mail:

“Will voting by mail be a big deal for us? We already vote largely by mail. Do you think the

Post Office is equipped to handle a bigger load? Nationwide? Is it a legitimate concern; or is too much being made of the issue?”

-- Debi Fletcher Brumfield: I will go to the polls like I always have

-- Gary Holsey: So the post office loses things all the time that I order, putting them in charge of our country’s voting system? I’d say not very intelligent.

--Gabby Maldonado Rodriguez: It shouldn’t be a big deal, but your president’s new USPS leader was strategically placed to interfere with this process, so who knows how it’s going to go now! Cheaters gonna cheat.

-- Stephen Thompson: “...there’s no difference between absentee and mail-in ballots in California.

“For nearly 20 years, California has allowed voters to register to permanently vote-by-mail, no excuse needed,” Mahood (press secretary for the California secretary of state) said. “There are simply ‘vote-by-mail’ ballots in California, we don’t use the term ‘absentee’ any more as there are no excuses or qualifications needed to vote-by-mail.”

-- Scott Northrup: There is far too much of a deal being made about this. A bigger concern and issue is the amount of polling places being shut down in states that do not utilize absentee ballots, especially in low income and heavily minority neighborhoods. It’s just one more way to suppress American citizens’ Constitutional right to vote

-- Alesia Matdanbry: … No more overtime for postal workers. So once they work their shift, whatever mail did not get delivered, goes back to the PO til the next day. The overload of ballots might cause an additional delay.

-- Reina Vargas: I propose a tracking number to each voter’s envelope. Voter, USPS and the government can track when it’s shipped and when it arrives .

-- Summer Comminos: … you can already track your ballot.

-- Christine Laing: I vote absentee but I had to verify my ID and voting status. Yes, that is an issue not to mention the postal service will be swamped. Too many illegals that would vote here. Nope!

-- Janet Cufaude Johnson: I’ve voted by mail for a number of years and will continue to do so. However there’s nothing preventing me from hand delivering it. One less item for the Post Office to lose.

-- Lorraine Phillips Ainsworth: Oregon has been 100% vote by mail for a long time. It has reported less fraud, and it diligently checks, than most votein-person states. I understand other states have had a similar experience. Because Trump says it’ll lead to fraud, does not make it so.

-- Frank Sorgea: It’s just another ploy to deny the vote to millions. Republicans should be ashamed of themselves for letting this lie be perpetuated.

-- Rupi Sandhu: Voting by mail would make the 2020 election safer for our community’s health.

The workers at the precinct and the community would receive a way to stay protected and exercise their voting rights. Given the fact that most election volunteers are older citizens, they will probably not be able to work at the polling locations and we will have fewer locations open. This can lead to long lines and people not voting in frustration. We have seen this happen in other states recently...

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Testing Experience:

We asked: “We’re interested in hearing from people who have been tested for COVID-19. Specifically: What facility did you use for testing, how long did it take for you to get in for testing, and how long did it take you to get your results?”

-- Gary Rohrbaugh: I got tested at Oroville hospital in June because of an angiogram that was being done the following week. An appointment was made and I was in and out in minutes. I never got the results but I would say that it was negative because the angiogram was performed as planned.

-- Kayla Raylyn: I went to Rideout hospital. Didn’t take very long to get in. It hurt a little when they swabbed my nose and it took 48 hours to get my results.

-- Raeanna Gillespie: I went through Optum Serve (LHI Care). I checked the website on Monday and first available appt was Wednesday at 2:30pm at Veterans Memorial Hall (YC). I arrived at 2:10pm and had to wait for 1 person to finish up. The test was easy & painless. I was out by 2:15pm. My results were ready the following Monday morning (5 days after testing date).

-- Amy Brookman: I registered through LHI got tested four days later at the Veterans Hall 7/22 still no results . I called the health department to inquire about results; they gave me another number to call, I called and the lady I spoke to said it could take up to 15 days to get results back ... since she had to wait 15 days for her results. Day 14, still no results.

-- Amy Brookman: Within 10 minutes of writing this I got a text and logged on and my results are finally in! Negative for Covid!!

-- Zeba Hone: Tested 3 times through LHI care. Locations were: Woodland, West Sac, Roseville. Result times varied. One back within 7 days, one within 12 days, and the other, 48 hours. They’re doing the best they can.

-- Andi Ervin-edwards: Had mine done at

Sutter Urgent Care. Took 2 hours from doctor recommendation to test time. Was tested on a Wednesday afternoon and had results back by Friday.