Of all rights we have, the right to vote is by far the most Democratically ‘defining’. Voting for candidates allows the country to choose people they trust to run the nation, but is the current voting system an accurate representation of the entire nation? Over 100,000,000 Americans did not vote in the 2016 election, in which President Donald Trump won, but political scientists say if more people had voted, the election would have gone a different way. The groups of Americans who tend to vote least are younger generations, and Hispanic and Asian-American groups, both groups lean left. Some Democrats suggest that making voting easier for Americans would result in a far more representational vote. On the other hand, a Pew study conducted in 2018 found that 63% of Republicans want to put more restrictions on voting.
With the trepidation that came with the COVID-19 pandemic, voting in the 2020 election has become a more difficult feat than compared to past years. Because of the impact on national health, voting by mail should be an option for all Americans. Voting by mail has been a viable choice for a long time, even before the limitations that came with the pandemic. States Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington, all conducted elections by mail and 34 other states have allowed absentee voting without an excuse. Unfortunately, a right that seems very necessary during these times has become a highly disputed topic between the Republican and Democratic parties.
President Donald Trump has spoken multiple times about his worries about the accuracy of mail-in voting. The President tweeted in late July that instituting a ‘universal mail-in’ vote “RISKS…our Democracy”. While many Americans feel mail-in voting should be allowed this election, President Trump feels it poses security dangers. He and Attorney General William Barr say mail in voting allows foreign countries to tamper with ballots and could increase fraudulent ballots. Despite these claims, the FBI says there is no evidence of coordinate fraud schemes circulating around mail voting this election.
Fixing ‘Voter Fraud’
Rather than focusing their campaign on helping the struggling families during COVID-19, or responding in a positive way to the racial justice pleas, The Trump Administration seemingly wants to take away basic rights in the upcoming election. In an interview with the President in June, he himself claimed that the biggest risk on his bid for re-election is losing the lawsuit which he has filed against vote-by-mail. This is due to the reason that the election is being ‘put at risk’ by the amount of ‘voter fraud’ he believes will take place.
Is this a real concern, or just an efficient way of suppressing voters? A recent survey reveals that 64% of Democrats, 14% of Republicans, and 36% of Independents expect to vote by mail in the upcoming election. This evidence can point to the idea that the Trump Administration is attempting to stop most Democrats from voting in the November 3rd election.
Other measures the Republicans have taken are increasing the restrictions on being able to vote, limits on early voting, and closing polling stations in poor communities all under the false pretext of ‘voter fraud’ which is actually exceptionally rare. Along with polling places closing, the Postmaster General has fired many postal workers, and removed mail drop off boxes in poor communities. This has limited the way in which poor individuals can cast their votes.
Postmaster General Louis Dejoy has a big role to play in this issue. The pretext under which he has been cutting down on postal drop off boxes and workers is that, ‘changes must be made’ to ‘adapt to the realities of the marketplace.’ According to Forbes Article, former member of the board of governors, David Williams testified claiming that Dejoy had appeared unqualified in his interview for postmaster general, and was originally recommended for the job by a GOP member. Senator Gary Peters(D-MI) echoed many of our concerns in saying, “The Postal Service has always delivered, But Mr. Dejoy, I don’t think you have.”
Voting By Mail
Vote-by-mail seems like a foriegn concept to many young voters, as major discussion on the topic only began this year. This form of voting originated during the Civil War, when it became necessary for soldiers to vote from the Battlefield. It soon progressed and became a fundamental part of voting for people who were severely ill, or living away from the US. In the 1980s, California became the first state to allow absentee voting(a vote made by someone unable to vote on election day). This is another form of vote-by-mail, but it wasn’t until 1998 when Oregon became the first state to register vote-by-mail as a legitimate form of voting.
This aspect of voting is crucial to the sick and elderly, especially with the global pandemic amassing around us. Many healthcare professionals recommend mail-in voting as the safest approach, but Republicans continue to disparage this claim. One would assume that due to the precarious situation our world is in right now, absentee voting should be an accessible option to all voters. However, President Trump argues that, “Absentee Ballots are a great way to vote for the many senior citizens, military, and others who can’t get to the polls on Election Day” and “These ballots are very different from 100% Mail-In Voting, which is ‘RIPE for FRAUD,’ and shouldn’t be allowed!” By trying to do away with the vote-by-mail option, Trump is antagonizing himself from injured veterans and at-risk individuals who are unable to go out and vote.
Though the President seems to be over-estimating the risks tied with vote-by-mail, it is crucial to examine them as well. A county in Atlanta with a diverse population had chaotic results with their vote-by-mail election. About a third of the ballots were lost because people couldn’t understand their directions clearly. This is a very minor case, but uncoordinated state governments and resources can make it difficult to reach voters. Vote-by-mail has also been a somewhat tedious process in the states where it has been in use for a while. In order to accomplish voting by mail efficiently, we must mobilize and organize our voting systems in a way that acknowledges mail-in voting and in-person voting the same way. The National Association of Secretaries of State and Democratic Senators have endorsed vote-by-mail and introduced legislation to help fund and organize these efforts.
Impact on Each Party
Clearly, mail-in voting has a significant impact on both political parties. It ties in directly with the strategies they are using to win the 2020 election.
The Democratic strategy in this election is to encourage high numbers of mail-in voting. Michelle Obama took time out of her DNC speech to ask her audience to vote early, “We’ve got to vote early, in person if we can. We’ve got to request our mail-in ballots right now, tonight, and send them back immediately and follow-up to make sure they’re received,” were the remarks made by the former First Lady. The Democratic Party has spent $24 Million on voter mobilization and vote by mail education. Fair Fight, a group created by politician Stacy Abrams, have established voter protection programs in 17 states. The Biden campaign has already mobilized their efforts by reaching out to voters in key battleground states to request their mail-in ballots as soon as possible. They want to encourage voting in any form, whether that’s absentee, in-person, or vote-by-mail, their idea is Vote! Vote! Vote!
In contrast, the Republican Party aims to limit mail-in voting as much as possible. According to RNC spokesperson Mandi Merrit, “But we believe Democrats are using the guise of a public health emergency to seek these long sought-after election changes that fit their agenda.” They claim that Democrats are using COVID-19 as an excuse to gain votes through vote-by-mail.
Nevertheless, there is division within the Republican party as well, “Any Republican who’s running a campaign knows how much we rely on absentee ballots – vote by mail – for turnout.” This is a statement made by a former RNC chairman, and it seems to be echoed by many Republicans in office. However, the Trump Administration and many Pro-Trump Republicans have been involved in lawsuits attempting to block the loosening of voting requirements. In a country that encourages the freedom of speech and is supposed to give everyone a say in their government, preventing individuals from voting doesn’t exactly seem like the ‘presidential’ thing to do.
Celebrities Speaking Out
Many politicians have taken efforts in persuading and educating voters on what’s going on. Celebrities have taken a similar role. Taylor Swift, Kendall Jenner, Billie Eilish, Tom Hanks, and many more have used Twitter and Instagram to persuade their followers to register. Cast members from the show One Tree Hill also used their platform to spread the word to vote this election. While having a fun remote reunion, they used their opportunity to tell fans to register and vote. Former WNBA player, Candance Parker, sold cupcakes to raise money for vote.org, she says “I really do feel that as a society… we really [need to] explain to our youth, and people that are at that age that are about to vote, how important it is”. This method of getting people to vote can be very impactful, especially on younger fans. Since younger generations are more impressionable to their surroundings, when a celebrity they look up to expresses their beliefs, a fan may be influenced in the same way.
While influence is not always positive, in this case, it may be highly effective. For example, in the 2008 election, when Oprah Winfrey endorsed Barack Obama, overall voter participation and contributions increased, giving him almost a million additional votes. As mentioned before, of younger generations, 60% are Democratic. Increasing their vote would not only increase Biden’s chance of winning but may bring more support for progressive thinking. For example, many young people feel the US should have stronger gun control laws (especially with the terribly high amounts of deaths by school shootings), decline in police brutality (which has been an important topic, but with recent events such as the deaths of George Floyd, and the shooting of Jacob Blake, the cause is ever more needed), more women’s reproductive options/birth control, and climate change (which has been a major part of the Democratic agenda).
Why We Should Vote
But it is important to remember, many younger people do not vote for a couple of reasons: some say they vote is not important and others don’t connect strongly enough with a party. For example, a 2018 Washington Post article interviews many teens to get their insight on voting. Some say they don’t think their vote will make a difference, when it definitely does. In the past election, due to the way our voting system works, Hilary Clinton actually received more popular votes (votes by all American citizens) but lost the election because Donald Trump received more than 270 electoral votes. While usually the members of the electoral college vote for the candidate that wins in their state this is not always the case. Clinton may have received 3 million more votes than Trump, but the majority of the 538 members of the electoral college did not. This is why young votes matter. Making sure that the winner of the next election is who America really wants takes more than just a 3 million lead, it takes strong support to influence the electoral college.
To ensure a greater voting turnout, spreading awareness about voting information is very important. Advertisements and PSAs are effective ways of increasing voter turnout, as well as making it easier to register. Many young Americans who live in cities say they found it hard to register because they didn’t have a license or photo ID they needed. There are also multi-language materials to increase votes in the population of people who do not speak English. But with some Republicans looking to make voting more difficult and less safe for Americns, a higher voter turnout might not happen.
Without vote by mail, young and old voters may be deterred from voting because of the cautions of the pandemic. Many seniors have expressed concerns with President Trump’s opinions on vote-by-mail. Since COVID-19 affects older populations much worse than younger, they are right to be weary about leaving the safety of their homes to vote. Additionally the amount of senior volunteers at voting centers has been decreasing since November due to health concerns.
Vote by mail not only impacts Democratic votes it also impacts Republican votes. The majority of the rural community is known to lean right, but without the option to vote by mail, which has always been there for many, the turnout for rural votes may decrease.
Making sure the President does not take away the right to vote by mail, making voting accessible to all, putting more ballot drop-off areas and advertising voting are all important goals that should be set in order to protect America’s vote. These methods are by no means extreme or a “risk” to our democracy, if anything it increases America’s representation. Compared to countries like Australia, where voting is mandatory for all eligible voters, their methods are simple to enact. Only ¼ of eligible voters supported Trump in the 2016 election, how is this an accurate representation of the entire nation’s beliefs? Since the goal of democracy is the “rule of majority”, ¼ of those able to vote is not an accurate representation of the roughly 245.5 million Americans who can vote.
The importance of voting in conjunction with the toll the Trump administration places on the USPS should be discussed more in order to make the 2020 election a more accurate representation of what America truly wants.