When the COVID-19 pandemic began in early March, politicians immediately looked at how it would affect the upcoming election. This caused a push for mail-in voting, which is unsafe and less reliable than traditional in-person voting.
There are two very different perspectives on the issue. The Democratic party often supports the system and urges their followers to vote by mail, whereas the Republican party often prefers the traditional form of voting.
When it comes to mail-in voting, there are two different types: absentee ballots and standard mail-in ballots. Absentee ballots must be requested and were a popular option in the 2016 election. Mail-in ballots are sent to everyone in select states.
There are currently 17 states that have mail-in ballots. These states include California, Oregon, Illinois, Colorado and Hawaii. These states are known as blue states and often vote Democratic in presidential elections.
Senior Alex Thorne sees both the positives and negatives of the mail-in voting system. “The system can be safe and effective if the ballots are properly documented,” Thorne explained. “Lack of supervision with the system could lead to a one-sided response from ballots.”
The truth about mail-in voting is it is unreliable and increases the risk of voter fraud. President Donald Trump has been very vocal about his disagreement with the mail-in voting system. He publicly said the ballots are corrupt and believes forgeries are an issue.
There have already been problems with mail-in voting all around the country. In Kentucky, over 100 absentee ballots were found in a dumpster. These ballots were not filled out and never reached the voters that requested them. This would result in many of those people not having their voice heard on Election night.
DuPage county in Illinois recently saw evidence of voter fraud with their mail-in system. The county has had three potential cases of voter fraud because ballots are being requested for deceased family members. This gives extra votes to whatever candidate the deceased person’s family members put on the ballot.
Sophomore Rusty VanWetzinga believes there is too much opportunity for fraud for the system to be effective. “I understand why mail-in voting is a more popular option this year because of the pandemic,” VanWetzinga said. “I just think the postal system gives a lot of opportunity for ballots to be interfered with.”
The traditional voting system is a far better option. In this system, the voter goes to a polling station, fills out their ballot and submits it there. The votes are then counted and submitted to the Electoral College.
The mail-in voting system is happening this election whether it is safe or not, but after the pandemic the in-person method needs to become more popular to preserve the tradition and security of the United States election system.
