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State and Local Politics Blog

Future901 op-ed on voting by mail

Because of a recent court decision, Tennessee had briefly joined 16 other states in allowing no-fault absentee voting. The Tennessee has fought changes despite the global pandemic and its impact here. Formerly certain concrete reasons such as travel, age, disability, or being a candidate would qualify you to apply for a mail-in ballot and it was not widely publicized. This year, with Memphians concerned about the ever-increasing COVID-19 infection rates, around 15,000 voters requested ballots, with little publicity or help from our Secretary of State or local Election Commission. It's almost as if they are not doing their best to ensure safe, secure elections in which the voters and poll workers all remain healthy. 

The State Supreme Court has now walked back universal absentee ballots, but has allowed for absentee ballot use for those with special vulnerability to COVID-19 or who are caretakers for persons with special vulnerability to COVID-19. Those this is disappointing, it is clear that expanded absentee ballot use is helpful to the functioning of our democracy.

Absentee voting is not only secure, it is convenient for voters in so many ways. First and most importantly, we can safely vote by mail even when COVID-19 is rapidly increasing in the Mid-South. No lines, no waiting (even 6' apart), no touching voting cards or machines or anything else that may have been touched--or even doors into the polling place. As someone who has been limiting my exposure to grocery and other essential stops, I appreciate the ease and security of a mail-in ballot that leaves a paper trail. 

In any given year absentee voting has the advantage of being fast, saving us time, and can easily be done from home at any time that's convenient to you. My favorite thing about voting by mail is that you can review your specific ballot and look up candidates, doing the research without the pressure to press a button and move on in the polling places.  No leaving work early to rush into the polling place, only to realize there are a dozen people on the ballot who you do not even recognize.

With the prevalence of gerrymandering, various district lines cut through neighborhoods and are hard to clarify or rationalize.  Mail in ballots come to you so you know exactly who will be running in what races. With a mailed ballot, only the pertinent races would appear and we could discuss the pros and cons of each candidate. Each election cycle, I will share recommendations with friends and neighbors on who we consider voting for each year. A neighbor of mine two streets over is in a completely different state House district than mine, and so has to research different candidates. They might not even know that until going into the voting booth, based off the strangely-drawn districts of our state legislature, resembling various animals and household objects.

I have also seen confusion over who is running for state level office vs federal vs local municipalities. As a result, some voters plan to vote for a candidate they know about only to find them not on their list in the polling booth. Other voters may hear of two or three candidates they like, then find they are opposing each other once they step into the voting booth when it is too late to do any further research. Still others may think all the candidates are on their ballot only to get into the booth and see a few names.

As a younger voter, I often got into the booth and saw names I didn't recognize, without time to find out more. Government is complex and there are often too many races to track, like in 2018 when we had 3 elections with over 40 races, from judges to state legislature, county positions, and mayor. Having time to review your individual ballot and read up on the internet sites gives you peace of mind that you know who all your options are and are making the best choices. And why would we want to rush that?

Several states successfully have mail-in ballots only, and have done for years:  CO, OR, WA, UT, and HI conduct all elections by mail. Other states allow counties to opt-in on some or all elections, in order to be flexible and fit the needs of the voting public. The National Conference of State Legislatures notes that voting by mail can be less expensive and increase voter turnout when done in lieu of in-person voting. 

One thing is evident:  Shelby County's Election Commission (SCEC) either isn't up to the challenge or is intentionally undermining the process and the public's faith in it. If it is the former reason, it might stem from a reluctance to change, which they have already shown by not purchasing newer, safer voting machines. Or it might be that the work of counting mailed-in ballots is not exciting to them and therefore we can assume they don't have the access to security of our elections as their top priority in all things; instead, maybe they prefer the easy way out? Or perhaps this is a process that they need time and quality controls to ensure that it is done right, neither of which do they have or know how to guarantee. 

If the SCEC's reason is the latter, that is deliberate disenfranchisement in a way that we should not stand for as voters. We must continue to advocate for safe and fair elections, asking all our county commissioners for help in keeping the SCEC accountable to us, and demand transparency in the way they conduct the business of the people. 

Sarah Beth Larson

1st Vice Chair, Shelby County Democratic Party


Robert Donati