Robert Brigham, a retired math professor at the University of Central Florida, has difficulty waiting in line to vote, because of his concern about the lack of access to a clean restroom after his treatment for colorectal cancer. But he prefers to drop off his ballot in person because he had a couple of bill payments get lost in the mail.
“I have a medical condition that literally makes me scared to be far from a bathroom,” Brigham said. “When there are more boxes available, I have more ability of where to go to drop off my ballot. I like short distances.”
Brigham was one of 1.5 million Floridians who dropped off their absentee ballots in 2020 and he would like to again this year. Florida adopted restrictions for drop boxes in 2021 to strengthen election security, even though studies found the boxes secure and trustworthy.
Tag Archives: vote by mail
“State election directors fear the Postal Service can’t handle expected crush of mail-in ballots”
AP:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — State election directors from across the country voiced serious concerns to a top U.S. Postal Service official Tuesday that the system won’t be able to handle an expected crush of mail-in ballots in the November election.
Steven Carter, manager of election and government programs for the postal service, attempted to reassure the directors at a meeting in Minneapolis that the system’s Office of Inspector General will publish an election mail report next week containing “encouraging” performance numbers for this year so far. . . .
But state election directors stressed to Carter that they’re still worried that too many ballots won’t be delivered in time to be counted in November. They based their fears on past problems and a disruptive consolidation of postal facilities across the country that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has put on hold until after the elections.
“How Mass Mail-In Voting Changes Everything”
I link to this commentary in The American Conservative not to give unwarranted credibility to it—but to convey the messages currently being communicated by those opposed to making voting accessible to all eligible voters. In this particular example, there is a heavy emphasis on: 1) urban (i.e., euphemism); 2) change from tradition & allegations of conspiracy (i.e., they are taking our country); 3) “dilution” of “suburban and rural voters” by “questionable absentee ballots” from cities and university towns; 4) characterizing “convenience” as capitulating “to the preferences of the most disengaged, apathetic ‘unlikely’ voters”; 5) distinguishing voters who have a “legitimate reason” for not voting in person from “mass” mail-in voting; and 6) outright disinformation.
In fact, voter turnout in the U.S. is relatively low compared to other countries, and significant racial gaps in voter turnout persist among the citizen voting age population. Numerous studies have found Black and Latino Americans face longer wait times for in-person voting, and many local election offices are underfunded. Fraud is very rare. Vote-by-mail has been around, secure, and non-partisan for years, and shouldn’t be available to just select segments of our population.
Thanks in large part to the Voting Rights Act and Immigration & Naturalization Act of 1965, our nation has made great strides in moving toward a well-functioning, inclusive multiracial democracy. Unfortunately, these changes have also resulted in anxiety and backlash. We’ve got to understand both, along with the rhetoric that fuels them, to figure out how to remove obstacles and ensure a strong and inclusive democracy for all (including those currently experiencing anxiety and susceptible to rhetoric to exclude other Americans). I’m still working on it. And so, here it is. . . .