Better Postal Service Delivery of Mail-in Ballots
Republicans are waging a war against mail-in voting. Like much of what Republicans do, it doesn’t make much sense and is not based on reality. For example, not too long ago, more Republicans voted by mail in Florida than Democrats did. Mail-in voting works pretty well for older folks and people who have trouble getting to a polling place. But because Democrats took advantage of mail-in voting during the pandemic, and because of Trump’s lies, Republicans are currently trying to undermine mail-in voting in a number of States.
Mail-in voting is actually problematic, but not for the reasons Republicans adduce. Particularly because of laws that require things like secrecy envelopes and a number of requirements on the declaration form enclosing the mail-in ballot, many voters end up not being able to vote because they make a mistake. Also, many mail-in ballots end up not being counted because they are not received in time. Despite these problems, mail-in voting remains an attractive option for voters who find it difficult to get to the polls on election day for a number of reasons.
The 2020 experience showed that drop boxes are a good option for returning a mail-in ballot. Ballots returned by mail often do not get to the board of elections in time. Nevertheless, Republicans have been making it difficult or impossible to use drop boxes. Recently, for example, the Wisconsin Supreme Court interpreted the election law to preclude the use of drop boxes.
Instead of wringing our hands at Republicans making it more difficult to vote, Democrats should push an alternative approach to mail-in voting that will make it easier for voters. We should use the existing US Postal service network, which involves letter carriers that go to each voter’s door daily.
There is no legal obstacle to the Postal Service providing what might be called concierge treatment of mail-in ballots. The Postal Service should roll out a system of free and expedited return of mail-in ballots. Voters could simply leave their ballots at their home mailbox for pickup by their carrier. Ballots could be granted special treatment — transferred into secure boxes and delivered to the Board of Elections on an expedited basis, preferably over night. Security could be enhanced by a voter’s ability to notify the USPS that a ballot is ready for collection. The USPS already has a system for postal customers to register on line, and mail ballots can be included in this system to provide security.
Funding would be needed, of course, but in the larger scheme of things this does not involve a huge amount of money. The USPS should step up to guarantee expedited delivery of mail-in ballots to save our democracy. I realize that things like this take time to arrange, but one approach would be a pilot project limited to swing states that require ballots to be receive by election day instead of being postmarked by election day. This would include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.
