Several states are expanding vote-by-mail options for safety during the pandemic, and some senators want it as an option nationwide. But widely implementing vote-by-mail would create extensive logistical challenges and require widespread voter education.
Many election officials want to see an expansion of absentee voting due to the coronavirus outbreak but there are challenges in doing so in time for the remainder of the spring primary season.Megan Jelinger /AFP via Getty Images Many election officials want to see an expansion of absentee voting due to the coronavirus outbreak but there are challenges in doing so in time for the remainder of the spring primary season.
State officials have eased some of these rules due to the current crisis, but in some states, it's the legislature that must act and many are not in session due to the pandemic. Advocates of vote-by-mail say states must act soon to remove any unnecessary barriers. It doesn't make sense, for example, to demand that mail-in ballots be witnessed during a health crisis, said Tammy Patrick, a senior adviser at the Democracy Fund. "The last thing you need to do is to require that voter to interact with another person in order to vote," Patrick said, adding that postage should also be provided so individuals don't need to go to a post office.While voting by mail is certainly safer and more convenient, said Michael Morley, a professor at the Florida State University College of Law, there are trade-offs. There are many stages at which things can go wrong and, even if a voter sends the ballot in on time with the right signature, there's no guarantee it will be counted. "If voters are trying to fill out these ballots by themselves at home without the assistance of election officials, they don't know for sure if they are properly filling out their ballots. They might inadvertently undervote a race, either skipping a race or marking too lightly that the machine can't read it," said Morley."They might inadvertently overvote, think that they're casting votes for two separate races, but they put them on the wrong line." Those are the kinds of mistakes usually caught at the polling place, where the voter has a chance to recast their ballot so it will be counted correctly. "Vote-by-mail is certainly an important part of our system. It's going to play an important role in our response specifically to the coronavirus, but it's not a panacea," said Morley He thinks the best protection for voters is having a variety of options. Vote-by-mail might look good now, but it won't be much use if there's a threat to the postal system — like the anthrax attacks after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. There are also other potential problems, ballots could be sent to the wrong address or get lost in the mail. Some worry that automatically sending ballots out to every voter could open the way to fraud and voters being pressured to vote a certain way. Individuals with disabilities or language needs might also have a difficult time voting from home. That's one reason advocates of expanding vote-by-mail are also pushing for more early in-person voting as an alternative for those who can't use the mail. They also want a system to track and verify ballots as they work their way through the mail system so they don't get lost or stolen. Perhaps an even bigger question is whether all states can make such sweeping changes on short notice. While some places already rely heavily on mail-in voting, others don't have the infrastructure in place to deliver and count large numbers of mail-in ballots. The states where vote-by-mail is in wide use already, such as Colorado and Washington, have had years of preparation. Recognizing the challenges, the National Vote at Home Institute has just released aOthers have raised concerns about the nation's capacity to print and deliver millions more ballots than usual."We're already working 24/7 now," said Jeff Ellington, president and chief operating officer of Runbeck Election Services in Phoenix, which prints and mails ballots in 18 states. It's possible to expand operations to meet a surge in demand, Ellington said, but decisions have to be made soon. Most states need mail-in ballots sent to their voters about twenty to thirty days in advance of an election. "If you can get to the end of April, end of May, June, July and August, those primaries would have a shot at moving to all mail. But again, it's about making the decision quickly. It's about working closely with the vendors to make it happen," he said. Ellington also notes that the equipment needed to make sure that the right ballots are inserted into the right envelopes is customized and can't be purchased off -the-shelf. One more challenge: the availability of paper to print the ballots on. A lot of it comes from Asia and other areas that have been hit hard by the pandemic.
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