[EL] Challenges to implementing "universal vote by mail" and limiting in person voting by November

Wed Mar 18 09:37:16 PDT 2020

I think there are a lot of assumptions in this message that I’d like to clarify:

  1.  I’ve been on the phone with at least 8 states in the last 72 hours. Both parties. There are literally no states that I know of where turf issues are interfering with finding a solution. They are keenly aware of the problem and searching for solutions. It’s all hands on deck, and they’re ready to do whatever they need to.
  2.  It’s not easy at all to just transmit technology or expertise here. It took WA and OR decades to get where they are, and they also have their own elections to run. It took CO almost a decade to get to where they are. There are procedures and technology that need to be developed, and there’s not a one-size-fits-all solution for all the states. The idea of just taking what WA does and parachuting it into TX as a package is just not feasible.
  3.  And that’s not even the biggest wild card, which is the voters. There’s a reason that WA, OR, CO eased voters into an all-mail voting system. Because voters need education to make sure they realize what their choices are, and importantly, how to fill out and return a ballot themselves (without any in-person guidance) to ensure that the ballot isn’t rejected and every race they want to vote in is counted. This is particularly true in a presidential general election, where a very large percentage of people who vote are NOT regular voters and aren’t as “high information” as the voters who might vote in primaries and local elections.
  4.  Which brings me to my final point. There is a cost associated with change, and that price is expressed in voter confusion, frustration, and possibly disenfranchisement. The best reforms need time to be implemented well and for voters to be educated. There are plenty of example of great reforms that were implemented badly, and actually ended up hurting voters and elections. The costs associated with radical change in a very short period of time in an election with large numbers of lower-information voters could be particularly high.

Again, I’m coming to this as an ADVOCATE for expanding mail voting options for November. But I’m not in favor of doing so if it means vastly reducing access to in-person voting options, in properly staffed and situated polling locations, for those voters that prefer to vote that way.

David J. Becker | Executive Director and Founder
Center for Election Innovation & Research
1120 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 1040, Washington, DC  20036
(202) 550-3470 (mobile) | dbecker at electioninnovation.org<mailto:dbecker at electioninnovation.org>
www.electioninnovation.org<http://www.electioninnovation.org/> | @beckerdavidj

From: larrylevine at earthlink.net <larrylevine at earthlink.net>
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2020 12:24 PM
To: David Becker <dbecker at electioninnovation.org>; 'Marty Lederman' <Martin.Lederman at law.georgetown.edu>; 'Rick Hasen' <rhasen at law.uci.edu>; 'Election Law Listserv' <law-election at uci.edu>
Subject: RE: [EL] Challenges to implementing "universal vote by mail" and limiting in person voting by November

Yes, there are challenges to implementing all or greater mail-in balloting for the November election. But if state and local officials would put aside their rivalries and desire to protect their own turf, it can be done. There are states – Washington, Oregon, California – that have the technology and experience to do this. If other state and local election officials would be willing to adopt what already is available and in use, the challenge could be met. As for longer times to count and process ballots, that seems a small price to pay for conducting the election in a way that would protect the public. And, yes, there would be a need for large-scale public information programs to acquaint voters with the reasons for this change and how they can participate. We do it for the census. We probably could do it for an election.
Larry Levine

From: Law-election <law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu<mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu>> On Behalf Of David Becker
Sent: Wednesday, 18 March 2020 4:55 AM
To: Marty Lederman <Martin.Lederman at law.georgetown.edu<mailto:Martin.Lederman at law.georgetown.edu>>; Rick Hasen <rhasen at law.uci.edu<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>>; Election Law Listserv <law-election at uci.edu<mailto:law-election at uci.edu>>
Subject: Re: [EL] Challenges to implementing "universal vote by mail" and limiting in person voting by November

My op-ed in today’s Washington Post may answer some of Marty’s questions.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/18/mail-in-ballots-avoid-coronavirus-yes-heres-how-minimize-chaos-unfairness/

In short, we definitely need to expand the availability of vote by mail nationwide, eliminating restrictions where they exist (~14 states) and more widely encouraging and promoting vote by mail. But there are a lot of moving parts to moving to “only mail” elections, and states where it’s working have taken years/decades to get there. If we limit in-person voting options too aggressively, we could disenfranchise many (disproportionately affecting minority voters) and add unnecessarily to the chaos.

David J. Becker | Executive Director and Founder
Center for Election Innovation & Research
1120 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 1040, Washington, DC  20036
(202) 550-3470 (mobile) | dbecker at electioninnovation.org<mailto:dbecker at electioninnovation.org>
www.electioninnovation.org<http://www.electioninnovation.org/> | @beckerdavidj

From: Law-election <law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu<mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu>> On Behalf Of Marty Lederman
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2020 7:47 AM
To: Rick Hasen <rhasen at law.uci.edu<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>>; Election Law Listserv <law-election at uci.edu<mailto:law-election at uci.edu>>
Subject: [EL] Anyone have a link to the Klobuchar/Wyden bill? [National Voting-by-Mail, etc.]

They announced the Natural Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act last Friday<https://www.klobuchar.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2020/3/with-unprecedented-disruptions-expected-from-coronavirus-klobuchar-and-wyden-introduce-bill-to-ensure-americans-are-still-able-to-vote>, but I haven't been able to find any bill language anywhere, and Congress.com doesn't show it as having yet been introduced.

Does the summary description sound promising?  Sufficient?

If anyone finds the language, please send along, thanks.

FWIW, I'm inclined to think that Congress should simply require states to adopt the Oregon method before November, to wit:

County clerks mail official ballots to all registered voters between Oct. 14-20.  Voters can mail the ballots back or deposit them at a central location (a "polling" place) at any time between when they receive them and election day (but they must be received by election day).  And if a ballot mailed to a voter is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or never received, the voter may request and easily obtain a replacement ballot.

Several of you who support widespread VbM and who know much more about such things than I do have cautioned me offline that it'd be difficult/hazardous to impose such a requirement nationwide for this year's general election (even if it's an ideal solution for future elections).  I remain puzzled about why all states couldn't implement it if they began doing so now--why it's not an easier lift than a bunch of other emergency initiatives that are occurring as we speak--but I'm duly chastened by the skepticism of those of you who are more in-the-know.

--
Marty Lederman
Georgetown University Law Center
600 New Jersey Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
202-662-9937

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