Republican View: Voting by mail vs. absentee voting

There’s been some confusion over the difference between vote by mail and absentee voting. Vote by mail can work if implemented correctly as was done in Oregon 20 years ago. It’s not what I want for New York state, but it can be done with proper registration guidelines such as voter ID, which Oregon has upon registration either through a state-issued ID or a verified social security number. For the 2020 election, for states that don’t have mail-in voting in place already, it’s simply a bad idea.

New York has a system in place to vote through the mail with absentee voting. You just need a reason to request it. The governor last week made it easier by adding COVID-19 as a reason to request an absentee ballot. Why this wasn’t advocated for in the first place seems to be so it could be made a political issue, rather than letting voters avoid voting in person.

Some studies use Oregon as their prime example of how well mail-in voting can work, but it’s clear most advanced democracies believe that is an anomaly. Most developed democracies, particularly those in Europe, ban mail-in voting. Most of those states that do have mail-in voting require a photo ID to get a mail-in ballot.

That’s more than what most U.S. states require for absentee ballots. This is because they not only fear organizations stuffing ballot boxes with fraudulent votes but also buying votes. There’s a reason you do not get a “receipt” after voting to show who you voted for.

Those in favor of mail-in voting will continue to try to convince you that voter fraud is small, but how small does it have to be to be game changing? George W. Bush only won Florida by .009%.

Perception is reality when it comes to elections. The longer a decision is drawn out, the less confidence citizens have in the vote, and that’s disastrous. There are many who still believe the 2000 election was stolen, the verdict having been drawn out for weeks.

There’s a theory being put forward that there have been cuts to the post office that will make it harder to collect the vote. First, the post office is self-sufficient, receiving no federal funds, so it’s impossible for the president to enact cuts.

Postboxes are being removed just as they have been for decades and sorting machines pulled for maintenance just as they always have, but again, perception when it comes to voting is more important than actual impact; all those moves will be paused until after the election.

The post office handles 181.9 million pieces of first-class mail a day. It says it can easily handle an additional, what would be at most, 150 million ballots mailed over a month.

In 2018, there were 153.07 million registered voters. If every one of them voted absentee, that would cost $76 million in postage that the federal government should pay for. It’s unclear why then some politicians were calling for more than $20 billion in funding for the post office.

The post office is having financial problems exacerbated by COVID-19. Some will say it’s because it has to pre-pay its pension fund, something private companies don’t have to do, but all private companies have to do that.
Some argue the post office is hurting for cash because it also has to pre-pay medical for retirees, unlike private companies. Private companies can cancel that benefit at any time. The post office can’t.

While these are important facts to the debate, when it comes to why the post office’s financial difficulties, they don’t play a role, since the post office hasn’t been paying these obligations. It stopped in 2009 (see tinyurl.com/y4z39ax4).

With all that said, I don’t understand why it’s been determined that the post office must be self-sufficient. The postal service is in the U.S. Constitution. Some will argue over whether it is a requirement or a choice by Congress to have the service, but I’d argue since it’s been in operation since 1775, it’s no longer a choice, but a constitutional obligation.

Those are generally, at least in part, funded through taxes. Thankfully, it won’t be as large a tax bite since the post office brought in $71 billion last year and sees year-to-year increases.

There are concerns that in-person voting will be dangerous, but Dr. Anthony Fauci, held up as the voice of reason when it comes to COVID-19 planning, said if we can shop safely, we can vote in person safely. I’m inclined to listen to the experts and science when it comes to this. If New York wants to move to mail-in voting, that’s a debate to be had by the Legislature in the coming years, just as it was in Oregon.

If you need an absentee ballot, please call the Tompkins County Board of Elections at 607-274-5522 and ask for an application.