12 states will attempt new voting procedures in 2020. All are risking doing harm to the integrity of the election if things go wrong, as they did in the June NY primary, where the surge in mail voting led to 25% of the ballots being rejected in one race. The normal rate is 1%.
CA, DC, VT and NV will for the first time mail actual ballots to all voters. It took WA years to do this right. These 4 states are rushing to get it done. It is fraught with risk, especially if an election is close and ballot harvesting is allowed.
No state previously mailed absentee ballot applications to all voters in a general election. This year, DE, IL, MD, MA, MI, WI, IA, and OH will try it. It’s what NY tried in the June primary, overwhelming an unprepared system. These 8 states should NOT do this.
In-person primary elections took place yesterday in KS and MI. In person can be done safely &successfully. Historically, ballots are rejected 3 times as often in the mail compared to in-person. If mail voting surges and states aren’t ready, it will lead to bitter acrimony in Nov.
The lesson: These 12 states should not try to accomplish something in 2020 that they can’t successfully do.
Reporters should dig deeply into these 12 states to see if they can pull this off. Before it’s too late.
Reporters should dig deeply into these 12 states to see if they can pull this off. Before it’s too late.
