Three reasons why mail-in ballots are a bad idea, in my opinion. But first a bit of perspective and then the three reasons.
A Bit Of Perspective
I am amazed that this idea of mail-in ballots gets any traction at all in our country. Here in Reno, Nevada, people eat in restaurants, shop at Walmart and Costco, and see their doctors and dentists. We are masking up, socially distancing, and being responsible. How voting in person at the polls is any more dangerous than living our lives, given the COVID protocols, is beyond my ken.
The Use Of Mail-In Ballots Can Be Quite Problematic Because Of Limited Space, Formatting, And Language Requirements
I received my Official Mail-In Ballot for the General Election the other day. It arrived in the mail. The ballot is 8-1/2″ X 19″ and has candidates for public office on one side, and six state questions on the reverse. The content is printed in both English and Spanish. The ballot is reasonably formatted, but it does take close reading to understand because the print is small, especially for the six-state questions, one of which is intentionally left blank without explanation. The six-state questions do not have any explanatory background information and the ballot contains unexplained acronyms for candidates.
Voters Do Not Have Ready Access To Informed Resources If They Have Questions
If voters use mail-in ballots, they do not have ready access to informed resources to respond to questions they might have. No mail-in ballot can be completely self-explanatory. Mistakes will be made because of misreading the content or misinterpreting the content. Ballots are required to be signed by the voter and placed in a secure envelope. If the voter fails to sign the ballot before it is mailed, then that ballot will be disqualified when received and opened. I am afraid this failure to sign will happen in a great many instances.
Voting Is One Of The Most Important Acts Of Citizenship
When we exercise our right to vote in person, it is both results-oriented and symbolic. Voting in person demonstrates our active participation as a citizen. And, it sends a clear message to our friends and neighbors, who stand in line with us, that we take our citizenship seriously.
Links
Internal: https://whitebeardwisdom.com/what-makes-america-america/
External: https://theasianantiquarian.com/
