We would like to thank Secretary of State Mac Warner for clarifying a few things regarding absentee voting for our June 9 primary. However, we still have some questions and concerns.
Secretary Warner’s letter states, “West Virginia law requires absentee voters to provide a reason for voting absentee, which makes the direct sending of ballots proposal illegal.” But the letter also says, “safety calls for all registered voters to be eligible to vote absentee.” The entire purpose of sending everyone an absentee ballot application is to protect voters from exposure to the coronavirus. The state has already provided us with the reason for voting absentee, so they already know what that reason is. Why should we be required to state “avoiding coronavirus” on an application when that’s why we’re being sent an application in the first place?
The letter also asks, “Would you rather have extra applications or ballots ‘floating around out there’?” We’ve already provided a solution to this problem, which we will reiterate. First, however, we would like to point out an article submitted to The Dominion Post (03-27-20), entitled “Absentee ballot applications to be sent out,” said, “However, there may be overlap in requests and mailings by clerks due to natural postage delays, so any voters who receive more than one absentee application may disregard additional application mailings.” Hence our initial concern regarding excess applications “floating around out there.”
Our solution to prevent this from occurring with directly mailed ballots was quite simple: Organize all registered voters into three lists. One for people who voted early and whose ballots have already been received. A second for people who submitted their applications and were sent a ballot, but whose returned ballots are pending. And a third list for all other eligible voters. Then send ballots to “all other eligible voters.”
Secretary Warner’s letter does make one valid point: The application process is the only way voters registered as Independent can choose which partisan ballot they receive for the primary. But we have a solution for this as well. Send Democrat ballots to registered Democrats; Republican ballots to registered Republicans; and applications to registered Independents. This eliminates the need to send applications to two of three sets of voters, cutting down on cost and increasing expediency. Sending the applications to just Independents still gives them the opportunity to choose their partisan ticket without slowing down the entire voting process.
The letter also makes the assumption that anyone who can’t access their mail right now — including homeless individuals and those who have otherwise been displaced for coronavirus-related reasons — will still be able to vote in person May 27-June 6 or on June 9. We don’t know that the COVID-19 threat will have subsided enough to make in-person voting safe by then. We’re receiving absentee ballot applications specifically to avoid sending people to the polls, where they may endanger themselves or others. A Morgantown neighborhood sent a petition to The Dominion Post in support of direct mail-in voting. According to a poll from the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, 78% of eligible voters nationwide support mail-in voting. Five states already have mail-in elections, so we know there are ways to do it securely and effectively.
We understand there are limitations on what can be done for the primary. Some approaches will require legislative action, like further expanding mobile voting, and that may not be possible to do by June. Maybe we can’t fix all our voting woes in time for the primary, but if our officials get to work now, maybe we can have better solutions by November.
Morgantown Area News
'Tuesday, April 16, 2024'
