An effective democracy depends on reliable, accessible elections.
With persistent problems at polling places throughout the country, Congress must act quickly to assist states in providing vote-by-mail. What was seen Tuesday in Georgia — and previously during a primary election in Wisconsin — is an affront to democracy that must not be repeated in the November election between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
As a story on FoxNews.com explains, under the headline “Messy Georgia primary raises alarms for November”: “It raised the specter of a worst-case November scenario: a decisive state, like Florida and its ‘hanging chads’ and ‘butterfly ballots’ in 2000, remaining in dispute long after polls close. Meanwhile, Trump, Biden and their supporters could offer competing claims of victory or question the election’s legitimacy, inflaming an already boiling electorate.”
Tuesday in Georgia, some voters — particularly in the Atlanta area — reported waiting in line more than five hours to cast their ballots. Officials blamed the state’s new voting machines, which were put in place following claims of voter suppression in 2018. Poll workers reported trouble booting up the machines, a lack of necessary equipment and a lack of training because of the coronavirus pandemic. Some machines failed to work at all, apparently leading to the longest lines at polling places.
Georgia’s secretary of state and the leader of the state House of Representatives both announced investigations before the polls had closed. A banner headline in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution blared, “Complete Meltdown.”
As Washingtonians have known for years, such problems are largely avoided through the use of vote-by-mail. Ballots are received well before the election, and voters fill them out at their leisure before dropping them in the mail or a secure ballot box.
Trump has railed against vote-by-mail, claiming without providing evidence that it invites voter fraud — a common trope that has not held up to scrutiny. Shortly after taking office, Trump convened a task force to examine voter fraud he claimed was rampant in the 2016 election; it disbanded without issuing any findings.
Vote-by-mail is not devoid of problems. A current controversy in New Jersey is raging over nearly 20 percent of mail-in ballots not being counted. But vote-by-mail also has the benefit of providing hard copies so ballots can be double-checked, unlike the electronic voting machines used in some states.
The American people too often have taken democracy for granted, as demonstrated by voter turnout. But preventing those who want to vote from doing so — or making it difficult for them — also is a threat to that democracy.
While elections are the purview of the states, Congress must get involved. A coronavirus relief bill included money to help states with elections, and legislation has been proposed to require states to offer an absentee ballot to anybody who desires one. More than 30 states already have such a provision — Washington uses vote-by-mail for all elections — but voters in others states risk being disenfranchised.
The COVID-19 pandemic has played havoc with the primary election season. Some states have canceled primaries out of concern for public health; others have had voters waiting in line for hours while trying to adhere to social-distancing guidelines. Polling place workers also risk their health by coming into contact with hundreds or thousands of voters.
It is a situation that calls for vote-by-mail, to protect the health of the public and also our democracy.
