States that expanded mail voting already seeing a ‘turnout’ spike

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floridafan

Verified User
At least four of the eight states that held primary elections last Tuesday saw higher turnout than they did in the 2016 primaries, with most of the votes being cast by mail, according to an analysis of state data by The Hill. Each of the four states sent absentee ballot applications to every registered voter earlier this year.

Iowa’s turnout reached 24% last week, a 15% increase from the 2016 primaries and the highest turnout the state has ever seen for a primary. About 411,000 of the 524,000 votes cast were by absentee ballot, a nearly 1000% increase from 2016.

Montana, which held an all-mail primary this year, saw turnout surge to 55%, a 45% increase from 2016.


South Dakota saw a 28% turnout, a slight increase from 22% in 2016. About 89,000 of the 154,000 ballots cast were by mail, a massive increase from the 19,000 absentee ballots requested ahead of the 2016 primary.

New Mexico also saw turnout increase from 34% in 2016 to 40% last week. About 270,000 of the 400,000 votes cast were by mail.

“The June 2 primaries proved what we already knew – access to absentee ballots increases voter turnout,” Tom Ridge, a Republican who served as the Homeland Security secretary under George W. Bush and now chairs the bipartisan group VoteSafe, told The Hill. “That’s especially good news for someone like me who does not believe voting is a privilege, but rather a responsibility of citizenship. Voters should have options to demonstrate that responsibility safely and securely during this pandemic.”

Not all states saw turnout increases, however. Indiana, which allowed anyone to vote by mail but did not mail applications to every voter, saw a dip in turnout. Turnout in Washington D.C., which also did not mail applications to every voter and struggled to get absentee ballots out in time, only saw a 1% increase in turnout.

The numbers could encourage other states to follow suit and mail absentee ballot applications to every voter amid concerns about in-person voting due to the coronavirus. A growing number of states have seen cases spike since Memorial Day.

Trump has led the charge against mail ballots, pushing a number of baseless conspiracy theories alleging it could lead to increased instances of fraud, despite ample evidence refuting the claim.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/501384-turnout-surges-after-states-expand-mail-in-voting
 
floridafan said:
At least four of the eight states that held primary elections last Tuesday saw higher turnout than they did in the 2016 primaries, with most of the votes being cast by mail, according to an analysis of state data by The Hill. Each of the four states sent absentee ballot applications to every registered voter earlier this year.

Iowa’s turnout reached 24% last week, a 15% increase from the 2016 primaries and the highest turnout the state has ever seen for a primary. About 411,000 of the 524,000 votes cast were by absentee ballot, a nearly 1000% increase from 2016.

Montana, which held an all-mail primary this year, saw turnout surge to 55%, a 45% increase from 2016.


South Dakota saw a 28% turnout, a slight increase from 22% in 2016. About 89,000 of the 154,000 ballots cast were by mail, a massive increase from the 19,000 absentee ballots requested ahead of the 2016 primary.

New Mexico also saw turnout increase from 34% in 2016 to 40% last week. About 270,000 of the 400,000 votes cast were by mail.

“The June 2 primaries proved what we already knew – access to absentee ballots increases voter turnout,” Tom Ridge, a Republican who served as the Homeland Security secretary under George W. Bush and now chairs the bipartisan group VoteSafe, told The Hill. “That’s especially good news for someone like me who does not believe voting is a privilege, but rather a responsibility of citizenship. Voters should have options to demonstrate that responsibility safely and securely during this pandemic.”

Not all states saw turnout increases, however. Indiana, which allowed anyone to vote by mail but did not mail applications to every voter, saw a dip in turnout. Turnout in Washington D.C., which also did not mail applications to every voter and struggled to get absentee ballots out in time, only saw a 1% increase in turnout.

The numbers could encourage other states to follow suit and mail absentee ballot applications to every voter amid concerns about in-person voting due to the coronavirus. A growing number of states have seen cases spike since Memorial Day.

Trump has led the charge against mail ballots, pushing a number of baseless conspiracy theories alleging it could lead to increased instances of fraud, despite ample evidence refuting the claim.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/501384-turnout-surges-after-states-expand-mail-in-voting
Click to expand...
Everything will be open by November...including the polls;)
If you can protest, loot, and/riot in person, you can cast a ballot in person...right;)
 
TOP said:
Everything will be open by November...including the polls;)
If you can protest, loot, and/riot in person, you can cast a ballot in person...right;)
Click to expand...

There is no guarantee that everything will be open by November, so what is wrong with mail in voting? A vote is a vote regardless of how it is cast.
 
This points out another bad thing about mail-in voting. It doesn't occur at once, but over a protracted period of time. That means people can be influenced by current events to vote one way or another now and then possibly regret their choices several months later when the actual election is held because events and circumstances have changed dramatically.

Other clear problems with mail-in voting:

If you make a mistake on your ballot it could be invalidated and you might not have time to fix it or might not be notified at all that it was.

It can get lost in the mail

You have no idea who is handling it from your mailing it to it being delivered.

There is no control on who fills it out. Yes, you have to sign it but that's hardly an effective deterrent.

When you add ballot harvesting the potential for fraud skyrockets. Now, political operatives who have a vested interest are handling your ballot.

With all the inaccuracies in voter registration rolls, using mail-in ballots only increases the odds of ineligible voting occurring since these rolls are used to mail ballots out.

There are others, but mail-in voting is a bad idea.
 
T. A. Gardner said:
This points out another bad thing about mail-in voting. It doesn't occur at once, but over a protracted period of time. That means people can be influenced by current events to vote one way or another now and then possibly regret their choices several months later when the actual election is held because events and circumstances have changed dramatically.

Other clear problems with mail-in voting:

If you make a mistake on your ballot it could be invalidated and you might not have time to fix it or might not be notified at all that it was.

It can get lost in the mail

You have no idea who is handling it from your mailing it to it being delivered.

There is no control on who fills it out. Yes, you have to sign it but that's hardly an effective deterrent.

When you add ballot harvesting the potential for fraud skyrockets. Now, political operatives who have a vested interest are handling your ballot.

With all the inaccuracies in voter registration rolls, using mail-in ballots only increases the odds of ineligible voting occurring since these rolls are used to mail ballots out.

There are others, but mail-in voting is a bad idea.
Click to expand...
If you’re worried about a current event changing your mind wait till the last minute to post your vote.

The military is another example of mail in voting working.
 
T. A. Gardner said:
This points out another bad thing about mail-in voting. It doesn't occur at once, but over a protracted period of time. That means people can be influenced by current events to vote one way or another now and then possibly regret their choices several months later when the actual election is held because events and circumstances have changed dramatically.

Other clear problems with mail-in voting:

If you make a mistake on your ballot it could be invalidated and you might not have time to fix it or might not be notified at all that it was.

It can get lost in the mail

You have no idea who is handling it from your mailing it to it being delivered.

There is no control on who fills it out. Yes, you have to sign it but that's hardly an effective deterrent.

When you add ballot harvesting the potential for fraud skyrockets. Now, political operatives who have a vested interest are handling your ballot.

With all the inaccuracies in voter registration rolls, using mail-in ballots only increases the odds of ineligible voting occurring since these rolls are used to mail ballots out.

There are others, but mail-in voting is a bad idea.
Click to expand...

Any number of states have been using mail in ballots for many year without any problems. So why now , all of a sudden, does it become a problem.
Would you rather mail in your ballot or stand in line for possibly hours at a polling place?
 
floridafan said:
There is no guarantee that everything will be open by November, so what is wrong with mail in voting? A vote is a vote regardless of how it is cast.
Click to expand...
There's no need for mail in voting unless there's a specific need...
If you can go to a memorial, a funeral, protest, loot, and/riot etc. in person, you can cast a ballot in person...right?
If you need to vote by mail you can. Otherwise get up and go...If it's important enough, you should want to;)
( Bonus question: Who won the mail in ballots in 2016?)
 
T. A. Gardner said:
This points out another bad thing about mail-in voting. It doesn't occur at once, but over a protracted period of time. That means people can be influenced by current events to vote one way or another now and then possibly regret their choices several months later when the actual election is held because events and circumstances have changed dramatically.

Other clear problems with mail-in voting:

If you make a mistake on your ballot it could be invalidated and you might not have time to fix it or might not be notified at all that it was.

It can get lost in the mail

You have no idea who is handling it from your mailing it to it being delivered.

There is no control on who fills it out. Yes, you have to sign it but that's hardly an effective deterrent.

When you add ballot harvesting the potential for fraud skyrockets. Now, political operatives who have a vested interest are handling your ballot.

With all the inaccuracies in voter registration rolls, using mail-in ballots only increases the odds of ineligible voting occurring since these rolls are used to mail ballots out.

There are others, but mail-in voting is a bad idea.
Click to expand...
All good points... but there's simply no need to go to all mail-in voting....
 
TOP said:
There's no need for mail in voting unless there's a specific need...
If you can go to a memorial, a funeral, protest, loot, and/riot etc. in person, you can cast a ballot in person...right?
If you need to vote by mail you can. Otherwise get up and go...If it's important enough, you should want to;)
( Bonus question: Who won the mail in ballots in 2016?)
Click to expand...

Would you rather mail in a ballot or possibly stand in line for hours to vote?
 
floridafan said:
Any number of states have been using mail in ballots for many year without any problems. So why now , all of a sudden, does it become a problem.
Would you rather mail in your ballot or stand in line for possibly hours at a polling place?
Click to expand...
I've never waited more than 15 minutes to vote....have you?
If you live in the states where there is mail in/no reason as an option use it. If you need to request a ballot for a legitimate reason, do so now...
There's simply no reason to go to all mail in....
 
TOP said:
I've never waited more than 15 minutes to vote....have you?
If you live in the states where there is mail in/no reason as an option use it. If you need to request a ballot for a legitimate reason, do so now...
There's simply no reason to go to all mail in....
Click to expand...
Did you see the clusterfuck in the Georgia primary? People waited hours to vote. Let those who want to vote in person do so, and for the others, they can mail a ballot in.
 
floridafan said:
Did you see the clusterfuck in the Georgia primary? People waited hours to vote. Let those who want to vote in person do so, and for the others, they can mail a ballot in.
Click to expand...
There's no reason to go mail only.....leave the system just the way it is... requiring photo ID would be nice, though, wouldn't it?;)
I'm sure you want this election to be by the book....so that there's no question about the result....
 
TOP said:
There's no reason to go mail only.....leave the system just the way it is... requiring photo ID would be nice, though, wouldn't it?;)
I'm sure you want this election to be by the book....so that there's no question about the result....
Click to expand...

One state after another is expanding mail in voting, some have it as the only way to cast a ballot. Since there is no voter fraud, what wrong with this expansion.
 
Hello T. A. Gardner,

T. A. Gardner said:
This points out another bad thing about mail-in voting. It doesn't occur at once, but over a protracted period of time. That means people can be influenced by current events to vote one way or another now and then possibly regret their choices several months later when the actual election is held because events and circumstances have changed dramatically.

Other clear problems with mail-in voting:

If you make a mistake on your ballot it could be invalidated and you might not have time to fix it or might not be notified at all that it was.

It can get lost in the mail

You have no idea who is handling it from your mailing it to it being delivered.

There is no control on who fills it out. Yes, you have to sign it but that's hardly an effective deterrent.

When you add ballot harvesting the potential for fraud skyrockets. Now, political operatives who have a vested interest are handling your ballot.

With all the inaccuracies in voter registration rolls, using mail-in ballots only increases the odds of ineligible voting occurring since these rolls are used to mail ballots out.

There are others, but mail-in voting is a bad idea.
Click to expand...

There is absolutely no credible evidence to suggest that mail-in voting is any less accurate than in-person. 4 States already do all their voting by mail. No irregularities have been noted. Mail-in voting has the advantage of being safe for fighting coronavirus.

The reason the president opposes the very same mail-in voting he himself uses, ( also known as: 'Do as I say, not as I do,' ) is because everyone knows the prospect of mail-in voting scares the heck out of Republicans the same way a large voter turn-out does. That's because most of the time there is a strong turn-out, Republicans lose.
 
Phantasmal said:
If you’re worried about a current event changing your mind wait till the last minute to post your vote.

The military is another example of mail in voting working.
Click to expand...

The problem is, you can't "wait until the last minute." Mail-in voting usually has a cutoff as much as several weeks to a week before the actual election. The reason is that you have to mail it in early enough that it is received by election day. Some Democrat states are expanding this where it's almost becoming a vote anytime on anything sort of process.

I'm not saying that mail-in balloting is unnecessary. It is. There are people, like those in the military, that cannot or may not be present to vote on election day. They are exceptions that shouldn't make the rule. That is, mail-in balloting should be the exception and in-person voting, with ID, on election day should be the rule.
If elections and voting are so important, then you should have the wherewithal to plan a little bit ahead and have a valid ID available and have made the time to show up and cast your vote.
 
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