Among the major concerns:
— Although Congress has sent $400 million
to help states deal with pandemic-related
pressures on election systems, it’s well short
of the estimated $2 billion experts say officials
need to be ready for November.
— Not all states are equal when it comes to
letting voters fix mistakes that lead to rejection
of their ballots, such as failure to sign the mail-in
envelope. In a New Jersey special election in May,
a whopping 10% of mailed ballots were rejected.
— The rapid introduction of new technologies
and processes in state voting systems
heightens the risk of foreign interference and
insider tampering. That’s true even if simple
human error or local maneuvering for political
advantage are more likely threats.
— The slower count of mailed ballots could clash
with voter expectations of a clear Election Night
winner. Election officials have already warned
voters across the country that it could take days
after the polls close to count all the votes.
— In general, voting by mail is much less
forgiving than the in-person method, where a
voter’s identity is verified on the spot and any
difficulties can be handled by poll workers.
To ensure success, all the pieces of mail-in
balloting systems have to be in place well before
Election Day. That’s because processing absentee
ballots is a complex, multi-step process in most
states: Voter fills out application, mails it to local
election office; local election office verifies voter’s
eligibility, sends back ballot; voter completes
ballot, signs envelope, returns it. Election office
verifies ballot’s authenticity, counts it.
Image: Lynne Sladky