Michigan Mail-In Voting Disaster Casts Even More Doubt on November Election
The presidential election is right around the corner, and many voters from a variety of states are participating in the process of mail-in voting — opposed to in-person voting — to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Mail-in voting may appear to be a safe alternative to voters on the surface, but when considering how things turned out for Michigan’s primary on Tuesday, it may not be the best option after all.
“Mail problems marred the delivery of absentee ballots in Michigan in the run-up to Tuesday’s primary in the state, testing election administrators and ramping up fears of political pressure on the U.S. Postal Service just three months before Nov. 3,” The Washington Post reported.
Michigan has seen some of the most stringent stay-at-home orders in the country, thanks to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. It’s no wonder Michiganders felt it was best to vote via mail.
As polls opened, however, many voters reported that they were missing absentee ballots.
Additionally, there was fear of delayed delivery by the U.S. Postal Service. Therefore, election officials told voters to submit their ballots into physical dropboxes within a specific timeframe.
In other words, in order for Michiganders to avoid the spread of COVID-19, they chose to vote by absentee mail-in ballots. But by delivering their ballots to physical dropboxes, they had to show up somewhere in person anyway.
Essentially, their mail-in system did not keep them home when all was said and done.
The Post rightly noted that these difficulties experienced in the Michigan primaries offer a “potential warning ahead of the general election.”
And any concerns over this particular election should carry extra heft, given it’s galvanizing Democratic voters and Republican voters alike.
According to The Post, at least 77 percent of U.S. voters will be able to vote through the mail in the fall election. And with millions expected to vote, the outcome of mail-in voting could be a disaster.
Specifically, the disaster could involve missing ballots, delayed shipment or lack of security over the physical dropboxes.
The more risk there is to the integrity of states’ mail-in voting, the more America must realize that it’s not a feasible option.
President Donald Trump recently tweeted that he believes November’s election will be the “most rigged” in the history of our nation should mail-in voting be widely implemented.
Because of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, 2020 will be the most RIGGED Election in our nations history – unless this stupidity is ended. We voted during World War One & World War Two with no problem, but now they are using Covid in order to cheat by using Mail-Ins!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2020
“Because of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, 2020 will be the most RIGGED Election in our nations history – unless this stupidity is ended,” Trump tweeted. “We voted during World War One & World War Two with no problem, but now they are using Covid in order to cheat by using Mail-Ins!”
Whether or not the 2020 election will actually be “rigged” is beside the point.
If the Michigan primary reflects what awaits in November, Americans will have little reason to trust the results of the presidential election.
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