Mail-in Elections

In 1999 Oregon voters decided to make all of our elections 100% vote-by-mail. Being an Oregon resident myself, I remember that I was not wild about the idea. I may have even voted against it. I can’t remember why I didn’t like the idea. Maybe I disliked the idea of change, or maybe I thought there were too many ways it could get fouled up. Whatever the reason, I didn’t like the idea. But having had vote-by mail for the past 20 years I can tell you that I do like it now (it didn’t take 20 years. After the first election or two I was a convert). I am not alone in that opinion. Almost everyone in Oregon likes our election system, Republicans, Democrats and independents. It is convenient. The results are processed quicker. There are no lines, no fraud, no problems. I say there is no fraud, but of course there is always someone trying to game the system, but what I mean is that there is no more fraud than any other system, and that amounts to a minuscule fraction of the ballots. All the studies have shown that Mail-in elections do not favor one party over another. If you are uneasy about putting your ballot in the mail, you can take it to the County Courthouse or to one of various secure drop boxes located in each county.

Oregon is one of five states currently doing mail-in elections, and while every state does things a bit differently, all five appear to be doing just fine. This year, due to Covid, there are some additional states that will now mail ballots to every voter. This election year there has been much misinformation doled out about mail-in elections, this can be ignored because it is, you know, misinformation. But some legitimate concerns have been raised. The legitimate concerns deal with a Post Office that is underfunded and some states that may not be ready for the volume of mail-in ballots they will receive. The second question can be addressed by the states; there is time. The first question (the funding of the Post Office) requires leadership from the Congress.

We need to figure this out quickly because it does seem to be the most logical way to hold an election during a pandemic. There is no reason we should not have a fair and accurate election in November. After all, we were able to hold a national election during the Civil War. If we could hold an election then, we can hold one now.

(My science fiction novel Star Liner, is now available in paperback or as an e-book through Amazon and other online sources).

Link to Star Liner