Vote by Mail Redux
The end of April all the voters in Yavapai County where I live in Prescott, Arizona got a form from the County Recorders Office either verifying their Ballot-by-Mail status or allowing them to request a mail-in ballot for the upcoming primary in August and the general election in November.
We all saw the debacle in Wisconsin when thousands of people were required to stand in line with face masks and attempts at social distancing to vote in their primary. Some of those people were there because their vote-by-mail ballots didn’t arrive on time or couldn’t be returned on time.
November seems very far away, but now is the time for all of us to prepare for the upcoming elections. Arizona allows anyone to vote by mail, no excuses necessary. Other states are not so lenient. In Texas, for example, to be eligible to vote by mail, you must be 65 years or older, disabled, planning on being out of the county on election day and during the period for early voting or confined in jail, but otherwise eligible. In this time of social distancing, those are very restrictive requirements.
COVID and Voting
When the president’s pandemic task force is predicting a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the fall, it seems foolish not to be prepared. If you meet your state’s requirements, submit your vote-by-mail request now. And encourage your state to loosen its requirements. It’s not too late to put the systems and procedures in place to allow the preponderance of the electorate to either vote early or by mail in November.
For those concerned about fraud, there is little evidence of any in those states who have been doing vote-by-mail for years. Every mail-in ballot is a paper ballot with all the safeguards paper provides. I know our local registrar validates the signatures on all mail-in ballots and follows up on any that look questionable.
My Anti-Fraud Experience
A couple years ago when I was sporting a broken arm and could not produce an adequate signature, my sweet husband helped me complete my ballot. He signed the ballot appropriately, and we mailed it in. Several days later, the registrar of voters called me personally to verify that I had authorized him to complete my ballot. I appreciate knowing that level of precautions is in place.
If you are eligible to vote by mail in your state, now is the time to request your mail-in ballot. If your state has a very restrictive vote-by-mail policy, now is the time to persuade your legislature to loosen those requirements.
In addition, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) have introduced legislation in March to promote mail-in and early nationally to decrease the spread of the coronavirus. (See here and here.) Their Natural Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act (NDEBA) would ensure voters have 20 days of early voting in all states, require that all mail-in ballots submitted during the 21 days leading to an election be counted, and ensure that all voters have the option to request absentee ballots. It would also provide funding for states to implement the bill’s requirements. As Senator Wyden said, “No one should have to put their health at risk to vote.” Now is the time to contact your senators and let them know you support this bill.
Have you voted by mail in the past? Are you thinking about doing so in November? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
October 2020 Update:
If you live in Arizona, the last day to register for the November 3 election is Monday, October 5. You can register online at https://servicearizona.com. The last day to request a Vote by Mail ballot is October 23. Vote by mail ballots will begin to be sent on October 7. If you’re ready to vote, early In-Person voting will run from October 7 to October 30.
If you are concerned about using the postal service to deliver your Vote by Mail ballot and you live in Prescott, you can use the drop box at the County Administration Building, 1015 Fair Street. If you’re in Prescott Valley, the drop box is at the Town Hall, 7501 Skoog. Other Yavapai County locations are listed on the Elections and Voter Registration home page: https://www.yavapai.us/electionsvr/
A family member, household member or caregiver may return an absentee ballot on behalf of a voter. If anyone else collecting voted or unvoted early, ballots is guilts of a class 6 felony.
If you don’t live in Yavapai County, google your local Election Commission home page for drop-off locations.
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