Seattle Times - Other states should consider following the lead of Washington, Oregon and Colorado and move to universal mailed ballots. The convenience and access provided by this approach far outweighs concerns about security and fraud, which haven’t materialized after decades of experience.
Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman should help persuade them. Wyman is an articulate defender of voting by mail, which has worked well under her watch, and she’s co-chair of the elections committee for the national secretary of states association. She’s also a Republican, giving her credibility with GOP-led states needing to fix problematic election systems.
“In the modern era, we shouldn’t be having lines around the block,” Wyman told this editorial board on Tuesday. Most Read Opinion Stories
There are vulnerabilities in every system, and security requires continual effort to update systems and respond to new threats. But concerns about the security of mailed ballots are overblown. Every state already trusts the U.S. Postal Service to handle ballots, by allowing absentee ballots to be mailed. Less trustworthy are voting machines that are vulnerable to electronic attacks and don’t produce a paper trail.
What’s working here are actually hybrid systems. In Washington, Oregon and Colorado, ballots are mailed but voters can choose to return them either by mail or in-person at drop boxes and election offices.
A better term than “vote by mail” is “vote at home,” according to former Oregon Secretary of State Phil Keisling, who advocates for increased use of mailed ballots.
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