Am I the ONLY one even thinking about identity theft?!

Seriously now. I have been working on my election ballot for the US mid-term elections. I'm aware I'm bucking a trend (or several). Mid-term elections like this one typically see voter turn-out between 30-40% of the US population. So, the idea that I am voting in a mid-term election from Jordan is extraordinary.

In fact, this year looks to be a blockbuster balloting year for me. Today the US elections and in a short while, Jordan's elections. Anyway, tangent aside...

On this ballot from my state in the US (one of the few that won't allow expedited mailing), you have to provide an affidavit (swearing basically) that it is your ballot and you've voted and witnessed by two adults (this is a positive step from the states that used to make you get it notarized... a practice that has been disallowed). Now, on this affidavit, which is printed directly on the envelope for mailing, it requires your name, address, signature, and date of birth. Really?! Basically, the only thing you haven't asked for is my social security number. Shall I place that on the outside of an envelope proceeding unsecured through the US (and, as an absentee ballot, likely foreign) postal system? I mean, what are they thinking?

Now, I tend to be on the cautious side these days, but really. Did the person who dreamed up this scheme not give it ANY thought? So, as if finding two adults to verify that I am me and I signed the paper, now I have to go find another envelope big enough to fit the two envelopes (slightly larger than 8.5 X11) so that I'm not sending an identity-theft-o-gram... I sure hope this is the last complication for me on this matter. With it being such a hassle, no wonder no one votes...

Happy civic duty!