Voting by Mail Since 2015
I arrived in sunny California in August of 2015. The 2016 election was inching closer and I’d voted in the previous two elections, so I registered to vote in this new state. While my former home of Illinois had a vote by mail system, it was not nearly as robust as California’s methods nor had I ever used it. Whenever election time came in Illinois, I’d return home to my parents’ district and cast my vote. This was my experience voting in the 2008 and 2012 elections, but 2016 would be different.
The stakes were high – Elect a man who represented wealthy white supremacy or a warmongering woman who represented corporate oligarchy or some disappointing third party candidates. Instead of going to my polling place, I received a ballot in the mail three weeks prior to the election after registering to vote online. This gave me plenty of time to read through the ballot, understand the instructions to send it back, and review who is up for election. It’s a great system and it makes voting easy. In a democratic society, you want everyone to vote.
When registering to vote in California, the state offers you the opportunity to be a “permanent mail-in voter”. This does not disqualify you from casting a vote at the ballot box. It merely means that you will always receive a ballot delivered to your home through the post office. Should you attempt to cast two ballots, you would be charged with a felony, but voter fraud is so minimal it’s not even worth considering. If you’re afraid of someone stealing your vote, consider this situation. You order a package with Amazon and it’s running later than expected. You can go directly on Amazon’s website and learn exactly where your package is located. Your mail-in ballot contains a unique bar code registered to your specific ballot. Mail tracking made its debut in UPS in 1995 using a system to call in and determine where your package is located. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, you could type your number on UPS’ website and the computer would tell you. Voting by mail is so simple in terms of our robust tech sector, that claiming voter fraud is ‘massive’ is like saying vaccines don’t work. The evidence is there, but some people like to cheat.
So, what’s up with all this outcry over massive voter fraud? Well, to be straightforward, it’s prominent Republicans actively suppressing voting rights, especially in minority areas, and it’s a bunch of bullshit. They do this by closing polling places, automatically purging voters who did not vote in the last election, and demanding your signature look identical to how you registered to vote 30 years ago. Throw in Voter ID laws, felony disenfranchisement that largely affects minority voters through racist policies, and conservatives’ favorite tool, gerrymandering! Individual voter fraud is so minimal that it’s not even worth enforcing. A better idea would be to look at the people in power who actively restrict your right to vote and vote against them.
I’m not going to tell you who to vote for, but I’d like to know why anyone would vote for people that make it harder for others to vote. We live in a democracy and voting is a right. I’ve voted in multiple elections since I arrived in California, even a special election for school board, in which less than 15% of eligible voters cast a ballot. Voting by mail takes 5 minutes to understand and read the instructions. Researching the ballot in a normal election might take 30 minutes or an hour of your time. It’s your civic duty to vote and an hour is not a lot to ask. You were required to register for the selective service, which means you could be drafted into a war if you’re under the age of 35. If you’re required to serve in the military in times of crisis, don’t you think you should consider casting a ballot? Voting by mail makes it easy. If you don’t have this option, write your legislators, and demand the right to vote by mail. It’s worked great for me since 2015!
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Sources:
https://california.ballottrax.net/voter/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Package_tracking
https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/494649-the-voter-fraud-fraud
