Mail-In Ballots

 Even though we're still months away from the general election, the big news this week has been about voting, specifically voting by mail. While voting by mail has benefits over voting in person at the polls even in normal times, during a pandemic it's especially important because it helps people continue to distance and not congregate, touch a bunch of communal stuff, etc. I voted by mail in the primary election earlier this year, and it was a great process - I got to take my time researching the candidates, didn't have to make a special trip anywhere, and didn't have to schedule it around work, etc.

However, for the fall election, the president has straight up said he has been dismantling the US Postal Service. They're removing machinery to make the service less efficient, they've placed people in charge who have financial interests in the post office's competitors, and the USPS has already warned most states that they can't guarantee on-time delivery of mail-in ballots based on their current guidelines. The president is working to erode faith in the postal system, believing that his supporters will still be the ones who go vote in person, while his opponents will responsibly stay home and vote by mail and be disenfranchised due to lateness.

A couple things about that...

1. In addition to ballots, there are a lot of other things that are sent by mail, some of which his constituents may like: medication, checks, bills, letters from grandkids, dog sweaters, etc. 
2. There are other places to return your ballot than a mailbox. For example, many communities offer drop boxes, or you can deliver it directly to the county election office or even turn it in at your polling place on election day. 

But here's the dumbest thing I've seen yet: people are posting all over social media about how they don't trust mail-in voting and they are totally going in person in November. Then a lot of people add something like, "Vote in person or by absentee ballot, not mail-in." Um... absentee ballots and mail-in ballots are the exact same thing. The only difference is that you have to provide an "excuse" for an absentee ballot. How do I know this for sure? Because last November, I was traveling out of state on election day, so I requested an absentee ballot and mailed it back. This year, the law changed in my state to allow "no excuse absentee ballots" (i.e. mail-in voting), and in the spring, I requested a ballot in the mail and mailed it back. The process and the documents I received were exactly the same in both cases. Also, it was the same piece of paper that I would have received at the in-person polling place.

Anyway, I have already requested my mail-in ballot for November. I will probably deliver it myself to the election office, or at least use a community drop box, depending on what's set up by then. But I do not plan to wait around in lines and crowds during a pandemic.