One of the most important things we can do as citizens is to vote. Throughout our nation’s history, the fight for greater citizen access to the ballot box has been one of the most persistent efforts.
Making it easier for us, as citizens, to safely cast our ballots is vital in an era where our so-called representatives are increasingly ignoring our voices. It’s especially critical during a global pandemic.
Absentee, mail-in, whatever you want to call it, provides us with a way to safely cast our votes. So far, even though there have been hiccups, Idaho has done a fairly good job of guaranteeing access to the ballot. The move to offer online voter registration and absentee ballot requests was a good one.
In fact, it was so successful that the continued ability to register to vote online, as well as request mailed ballots for the upcoming election, is now a feature. It should continue to be so.
Absentee, mail-in, whatever you want to call it, provides us with a way to safely cast our votes. So far, even though there have been hiccups, Idaho has done a fairly good job of guaranteeing access to the ballot. The move to offer online voter registration and absentee ballot requests was a good one.
In fact, it was so successful that the continued ability to register to vote online, as well as request mailed ballots for the upcoming election, is now a feature. It should continue to be so.
We are fortunate in our country that voter fraud is a very small problem. Reputable studies into the incidence of voter fraud find that there are very few cases, and most of those are caught and handled in a timely manner. This is true whether ballots are cast in person or mailed in.
With a pandemic underway and without clear guidance and protocols from our “leaders,” it’s vital that we retain the ability to cast our vote via the mail. Indeed, we should be making efforts as a country to shore up the United States Postal Service. Up until the recent smear campaign against the USPS, the institutions enjoyed a 90% approval rating among Americans.
The USPS is one of the most secure ways to send information — which is why it’s been good enough for Social Security and Veterans Affairs benefits and why the IRS sends its official communications that way. When properly supported, and when not being sabotaged by draconian requirements not placed on any other institution, the USPS provides us with great service and a secure way to safely cast our ballots.
With polling places closing because of the pandemic (and for other reasons as well), the option to place the ballot in the mail is vital.
Next week, our “representatives” will meet in a special session, and they are expected to take up the issue of the election. Let your legislators know, in no uncertain terms, that you want to retain the ability to vote through the mail, as well as register to vote and request your ballot using the IdahoVotes.gov portal.
And in the event that our “representatives” will try to restrict our access to the ballot box, make a plan. Find out about early voting. Request your absentee ballot as early as you can, then, after filling it out, take it in person to the county elections office and put it in the secure ballot box. We don’t know what polling places will look like, and we don’t know how far our “representatives” will go to actually avoid accountability and hearing our voices. So make a plan. Be ready. And continue to demand access to our most fundamental right as citizens.