Do you trust the mail-in voting system?
There’s been a lot of conversation – pro and con – about ballots by mail, especially during a presidential election. We’ve seen headlines where postal workers have tossed away boxes of ballots, people have voted several times, deceased individuals have cast their votes, and candidates for various offices have been accused of padding their chances with absentee ballots. President Donald Trump wants to do something about that and has vowed to get rid of the practice as well as the machines that tally the results. But is it the right thing to do?
Banning Mail-In Voting
Earlier this week, the president discussed signing an executive order to get rid of mail-in voting. “I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, and also, while we’re at it, Highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES.” He continued, “WE WILL BEGIN THIS EFFORT, WHICH WILL BE STRONGLY OPPOSED BY THE DEMOCRATS BECAUSE THEY CHEAT AT LEVELS NEVER SEEN BEFORE, by signing an EXECUTIVE ORDER to help bring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm Elections.”
Recently, Trump met with the Russian president, and something he said apparently ignited this move to ban mail-in voting. “You know, Vladimir Putin said something, one of the most interesting things,” Trump explained in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity after the summit meeting. “He said, ‘Your election [in 2020] was rigged because you have mail-in voting. Mail-in voting, every election.’ He said, ‘No country has mail-in voting. It’s impossible to have mail-in voting and have honest elections.”
Trump took that information and ran with it, also claiming other countries don’t use the practice. “We are now the only Country in the World that uses Mail-In Voting,” he wrote on social media. “All others gave it up because of the MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD ENCOUNTERED.”
Not much has been said about what exactly the executive order will entail, whether it will be a total ban or a return to use for special circumstances.
Vote-by-Mail Has Changed Over the Years
Showing up to vote has long been a rite of passage and a sacred duty for the American people. But when wartime interrupted life, absentee voting came into existence. As historian Alex Keyssar wrote in his book, The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States, in 17th-century Massachusetts, men were able to vote from their homes if their residences were “vulnerable to Indian attack.”
During the Civil War, absentee voting became more common since so many men were away fighting. As TIME wrote, “During the 1864 presidential election – in which Republican incumbent President Abraham Lincoln defeated Democratic candidate George McClellan – Union soldiers voted in camps and field hospitals, under the supervision of clerks or state officials.”
“Excuse-required absentee voting started during the Civil War – a product of the competition between Abraham Lincoln and George McClellan,” Paul Gronke, a professor of political science at Reed College and founder of the nonpartisan Early Voting Information Center, told TIME in 2016. “Lincoln wanted to assure that he got the votes of the soldiers who were serving away from home.”
During the 1917-1918 Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, a delegate argued that those “in industry” – such as railroad employees and traveling salesmen – should be allowed to submit an absentee vote, arguing these people are “toiling and sacrificing … for the common good,” just like soldiers. As this type of voting took hold, some states required witnesses and a notary public’s signature.
In 1978, California became the first state to allow people to apply for absentee ballots without having to provide a valid excuse. Oregon held the first entirely mail-in federal primary in 1995 and the first mail-only general election in 1996. Since 2000, the Beaver State has been an all-vote-by-mail state.
Pros and Cons
Mail-in voting does have benefits. It allows people who likely wouldn’t be able to vote to cast their ballot. The elderly and disabled may find it difficult to get a ride to polling places, and it may be uncomfortable or challenging to stand in lines and participate. Obviously, military personnel who won’t be in the states benefit from being able to send their votes via mail.
There are some concerns about security and whether a vote will count. Hans A. von Spakovsky wrote an op-ed for The Heritage Foundation that posed an interesting question about trusting the postal service to deliver such important mail. If you had the winning $500 million lotto ticket, would you feel comfortable mailing it in, or would you go in person?
Mail-in voting poses some risks, such as ballots being altered or forged. Also, many are rejected because the forms weren’t filled out correctly, as there are no officials to help voters ensure they’ve completed everything properly. The New York Times published a report in 2012 stating that “votes cast by mail are less likely to be counted, more likely to be compromised and more likely to be contested than those cast in a voting booth.” The 2020 election report by the Election Assistance Commission showed that more than 500,000 of the absentee ballots mailed in were rejected and not counted. Also, nearly 91 million ballots were mailed to voters by election officials in all states, but only 70 million were returned, The Heritage Foundation explained. The reason is unknown and could be a combination of people just not voting, duplicate forms, and lost ballots.
“ELECTIONS CAN NEVER BE HONEST WITH MAIL IN BALLOTS/VOTING, and everybody, IN PARTICULAR THE DEMOCRATS, KNOWS THIS,” Trump wrote on social media. “I, AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, WILL FIGHT LIKE HELL TO BRING HONESTY AND INTEGRITY BACK TO OUR ELECTIONS.”
Getting rid of mail-in voting entirely would be a mistake. History shows the process is useful and allows legitimate voting for those who aren’t able to make it to the stations. However, requirements have become too relaxed in some states, making it easier for tampering and fraud to occur. During the COVID pandemic, absentee voting was understandable, but that should be reserved for extreme circumstances instead of becoming the norm. Better security, more restrictions on who can use the mail-in system, and, as Trump said, more honesty and integrity are what is needed.
