This year, as a Result of the Pandemic, we have seen a dramatic Increase in Absentee Voting, but some States will Not Verify or Count those Ballots before Election Day. This Delay could be a Major Problem for American Democracy, sowing doubt in the Results and Distrust in our Electoral Process. Getting Absentee Ballots ready to be Counted takes time. Elections Officials call this the "Inbound Ballot Process," which includes Tasks such as Verifying Signatures, Opening Envelopes, and Preparing Ballots for Machine Scanning.
Facing the prospect of Delayed General Election Results, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) issued an Executive Order to Allow for the Review of Absentee Ballot Envelopes before Election Day, in order to Quickly begin Counting after Polls Close. That was a Good Start, but Other States in similar positions to New York need to take Action as well, Processing or ideally Processing and Counting, Ballots before Nov. 3rd.
These States include the Presidential Battleground States of: Michigan; Pennsylvania; and Wisconsin, which do Not Process or Count Absentee Ballots before Election Day, and do Not give their Voters the Opportunity to Correct any Errors with their Ballots.
The good news is there's a Template for Addressing the Issue. Seventeen States Process and Count, in Advance of Election Day, Absentee Ballots. And they do so Securely and Efficiently like: Florida, which begins 22 days Before Elections; Colorado which begins 15 days Before; and Oregon which begins Seven days Before. These States have Rigorous Oversight, and Laws Forbidding the Disclosure of the Results, in some Cases making it a Crime to Divulge the Tallies.
While there are only Two Months left before Election Day, Legislatures still have time to act. Michigan Lawmakers are considering SB757, which would allow Early Processing, but Not Counting, of Ballots. And, in Pennsylvania, the Governor and the Legislature are in talks to Allow for Early Pre-Canvassing of Ballots, which means the Inspection and Verification of Ballots prior to Counting. There is No Excuse for these Bodies Not to Pass these Urgent Reforms.
We must Tally Ballots in a timely manner for reasons that have nothing to do with Satisfying our own Impatience. It is plausible that we could see One Candidate Leading the Early Returns on Election Night, and then watch that Lead Evaporate once Absentee Ballots are Counted.
We have examples of this happening, such as Democratic Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's 2018 Victory over Republican Martha McSally, who was Ahead Right after the Polls Closed. When the Final Votes showed Sinema had Won, Trump tweeted that the Result was "electoral corruption." It is Not, but to Avoid the same Problem this time around, Arizona has since Changed its Laws to allow Ballot Counting Two Weeks in Advance.
We can Protect Voter Trust from Eroding even further by Efficiently Preparing and Counting Ballots in every State to ensure Results as Quickly as possible. It will also allow for the Voter to be made aware of Problems with their Ballot and get it Corrected in time to be Counted.
Another Process should be changed for States that are Not Mail-Only Voting. Those States should only send Absentee Ballot Applications, then use the Undeliverable to Clean their Voter Rolls before sending Voters their Ballots.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
