Let’s talk about mail-in voting, specifically, about the charge to flood the zone with disinformation regarding the safety of voting by mail.
For instance, Mayor Wardell posted a lengthy opinion piece yesterday filled with claims about the safety of voting by mail and promoting sending Neptune City residents to voting booths in person this November, during what is predicted to be a second wave of COVID-19.
Leaving aside any thoughts about Mayor Wardell’s attempt to dissuade voters from voting, which is either actual voter suppression or a thinly-veiled attack on Governor Murphy to appease party leadership, on his official government page to mislead residents-we want to focus on FACTS. Let’s begin (Some statements edited for length, not context.)
Voting exclusively by mail is NOT voter suppression.
Voting IS our right and the basis of our democracy. Voting by mail during a pandemic – a system which is standard in several states pandemic or not – ensures we can exercise our rights without putting ourselves or our loved ones in danger of the virus. Any leader would want that.
Mail only voting will NOT confuse or limit voting among the populace,
…particularly those who have exercised their right to vote for years- the “seniors” that are referred to, the very people most affected by this pandemic. Lower the amount of registered voters voting? Let’s fact-check how it went for the all mail-in ballot primary in 2020 compared to other years:
These are the primary results for 2017:
These are the primary results for 2018:
Here are the primary results for 2019:
And here are the primary results for this year, 2020, when we had our first all mail-in ballot:
People were obviously aware and not confused. So, it is appropriate to ask what exactly is the worry? It would even seem that this scorched earth policy may negatively affect Republican voters as well by sowing even greater distrust in the process.
The primary was not only not a disaster logistically, but according to the Monmouth County Clerk Christine Hanlon, voter turnout for the 2020 primary was 22.35%.
We the People deserve results in a timely manner. But what is most critical is that we provide the greatest access to our citizenry to exercise its most important right without putting their health in jeopardy. It very much is about public safety and to claim otherwise is irresponsible. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say we “deserve” instant gratification. As much as we all want it, we’d rather be safe and know our votes are counted. We don’t recall the GOP worries about the delay while the Supreme Court decided the matter in 2000.
Nearly every major study conducted appears to conclude that voted fraud is essentially NOT an issue. Notwithstanding the misinformation based in fear emanating from the White House, whose occupant regularly shows his hand and just this past Wednesday admitted to active voter suppression on Fox News, “They want $25 billion — billion — for the post office. Now they need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,” Trump said on Thursday, adding, “But if they don’t get those two items, that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting.” (PS: He and the First Lady requested their vote-by-mail ballots from Florida the very same day.)
Actually, all states offer absentee ballot options – it’s how our overseas service members vote, among others – and only 8 states ask for reasons other than COVID-19 fears, with restrictions loosened because of the current situation.
We appreciate and welcome differing opinions and reasoned arguments. We also understand how politics works. What we will never understand is the perversion of facts during a national emergency for the purpose of political gain. Let’s stick to the facts, the issues and the solutions necessary to deal with unprecedented circumstances.