VOTE BY MAIL
Updated: July, 2020
As Coronavirus cases soar to record levels in the United States, the country continues to be deeply divided on using Vote by Mail (VBM) to protect voters during the pivotal upcoming November election.
As NEDC wrote in a May 2020 position statement,
The recent campaign for VBM federal mandates has unfortunately now made it a “Democratic wish list issue” and, unsurprisingly, a lightning rod for political opposition from Senator McConnell and President Trump. Particularly after VBM became a major part of a new $3.6 billion dollar House funding bill pushed by Democrats.
Turning VBM into a weaponized wedge issue, now expanded into a grass roots campaign aimed at the Senate, has not only created an inevitable Mexican stand-off, it has overwhelmed the discussion about other urgent and viable mitigations to the dangers posed by the pandemic this November.
NEDC has pointed out that rapidly expanding VBM in 2020 is likely to cause high levels of dysfunction, which are now evident in the recent primary elections. The problems reported include:
Ballots mailed to wrong address.
Ballots mailed without runoff candidate options.
Cast ballots not counted.
Unsecured drop-off boxes.
Ballots mailed with unusable return envelope.
Ballots mailed in large bundles to single mailboxes.
Mailed ballots left on lobby floors/insecure locations rather than individual mailboxes.
Republican ballots mailed to Democrats and vice versa.
Not all counties extended time they received mail-in ballots.
Underfunded elections boards can’t handle high demand for mail ballots.
Postal Service can’t handle the volume.
Tens of thousands of mail-in ballots never received by voters in many states.
Many rural voters lack access to reliable mail.
Ballots disqualified due to signatures not being an exact match.
Ballots invalidated due to appearing in mail boxes improperly bundled together.
Citizens listed as having voted, but report never having received a ballot or casting one.
Politicians family members charged with vote-by-mail tampering and unauthorized possession of ballots.
Campaign worker confessed to stealing ballots out of mailboxes on behalf of and “at the direction of” the campaign.
Citizens requesting ballots receive confirmation from board of elections, yet never receive ballots anyway.
Even in states that mail ballots automatically, 5% weren’t received.
Votes not counted due to faulty software/poorly calibrated vote-tabulation scanners.
If ballots are not marked perfectly by voter, they may not be counted at all.
States rushing to get results in on time rather than taking time to count accurately.
States essentially running 2 elections - mail and in person - without extra resources.
Ballot deadlines in some states or counties are impossible to meet.
Many mailed ballots from outdated registration lists were returned to sender (1 in 10 returned in Baltimore).
Of people with ballots returned by PO, many were recorded in poll books as having voted and returned a complete ballot.
Ballot alignment errors rendered them uncountable by scanners.
Ballots processed upside down or backwards resulting in return address being read as delivery address.
Hard to find/confusing applications online for absentee mail-in ballots.
1 in 10 ballots rejected in NJ (returned late, missing certificates, unmatched signature, incomplete bearer portion, unsigned certificate: 35k uncounted).
Native American/rural communities have problems requesting ballots because they do not have a street address.
Many citizens lack internet access, can’t request ballots.
Early voting not properly announced.
THE MANY HIDDEN PROBLEMS OF VOTE BY MAIL
It stands to reason that voters are grateful for anything that makes casting a ballot easier. Voting by mail may be necessary for some, particularly overseas service members, those who are sick or disabled. But should everyone do it?
Proposals for vote-by-mail (VBM) systems are on the rise around the country. The use of absentee ballots and other forms of voting by mail has more than tripled since 1980. Colorado, Oregon, and Washington have switched to all vote-by-mail systems, and several other states have seen mail ballot rates exceed 50 percent.
Voters using these systems typically report satisfaction, because the process on their end is generally easier. But, as with any convenience based voting system, VBM can undermine integrity.
Voters are often unaware of the risks to their ballot once they have delivered it into the system.
Lack of transparency, lack of security, opportunities for voter intimidation, and high levels of ballot mishandling are some of the reasons to limit these voting systems to serve only those who absolutely require them.
Lack of Transparency, Security, Oversight, and Accountability
As with any voting system that is not fully transparent, proving mail-in fraud can be difficult or impossible. Once we drop our ballot in the mail, we can't verify what becomes of it. Additionally, should our ballots arrive in the central aggregating location untampered, they are likely to be counted by the same computerized counters that have been proven vulnerable to error and fraud. Central counting makes fraud on a large scale easier to accomplish and harder to detect.
Vote by mail cannot provide a secure chain of custody of the ballots. That means the ballots are moved without consistent public oversight, offering opportunities for fraud, mismanagement and disenfranchisement. Ballots are stored in hundreds of thousands of locations with insufficient security for two to three weeks. The ballots are handled by many anonymous persons throughout the process. It’s possible that an unmarked contest on a ballot can be marked by someone other than the voter when the ballots are opened for counting.
High Ballot Rejection Rates
Vote-by-mail systems have a much higher rates of ballot rejection than in-person voting. Signature matching issues are a common reason, though often voters will not receive notification their signatures did not match. For some voters with disabilities, their signatures may change or they may need to use stamps. Instructions provided to voters do not always state that their signatures must match in order for their ballot to be counted.
Voter Fraud vs. Insider Fraud
While VBM is consistently described as a nexus for voter fraud, studies have proven that few actual voters are engaged in any kind of fraud at a level that could change the outcome of an election. Instead, election insiders continue to constitute the greater threat.
The Heritage Foundation compiled a report on election fraud conviction cases, attempting to prove allegations of widespread voter fraud, but the report uncovered more crimes by elections insiders utilizing absentee ballots to attempt to rig elections
Voter Intimidation and Disenfranchisement of Vulnerable Populations
Voting at the polls allows for the security of casting a secret ballot in private, free from coercion. Voters may experience coercion at home - a matter rarely considered by those who believe voting at home is a fun family family affair - or at work. The coercion can take the form of vote buying or threats of violence or job loss.
People of color, Native Americans and youth have a hard time transitioning to vote by mail or absentee voting, particularly when these systems are first introduced or drastically expanded in short order. Voting rights experts say that a rushed process to expand VBM suppresses poor and minority votes and new young voters, who have deficient mail services or changing addresses. Additionally, those who are newly homeless or in transitional housing are less likely to successfully manage a VBM process. Voters with certain disabilities may also be disadvantaged if forced to vote at home.