Falls Church's David Bjerke Makes "The Case for Vote-By-Mail"

[Image courtesy of David Bjerke via Twitter]

Recently, the National Review ran a piece by John Fund responding to the Presidential Commission on Election Administration’s report – largely supportive, but sharply critical of the endorsement of increased vote-by-mail balloting.

Falls Church, VA’s David Bjerke didn’t agree – and he shared his response with me … and I am now sharing it with you (slightly edited for length):

Vote-by-mail resolves the voter ID debate, eliminates lines on Election Day, eliminates the high cost of operating and staffing a polling place which, in turn, reduces the amount of election equipment and costs required, and keeps the voter rolls more accurate than any other system. Vote-by-mail ensures transparent, honest, neutral, and accurate elections.

While a 2012 Pew study found 2.2 million dead people still listed as registered to vote, using online voter registration technology and matching state database systems can improve the voter rolls. Vote-by-mail is currently the best way to keep the voter rolls up to date and accurate. The states of Washington and Oregon are completely vote-by-mail states. This means election officials mail a ballot to every registered voter for every election. When a voter moves or dies, the ballot is returned to the elections office as undeliverable. The voter rolls are then updated. Online registration systems and databases are laudable; however, no current system is as good as vote-by-mail for keeping the voter rolls current and accurate because we are in direct communication with the voter for every election.

The worry, of course, is whether a person living at the previous voter’s address will take the ballot and cast it illegally. Washington and Oregon use mandatory signature verification on all cast ballots to ensure the signature on the voter’s registration is the same as the one on the security envelope that holds the returned ballot. Bipartisan election officers are trained in signature verification and will deny a voter’s returned ballot if the signature does not match. The voter is contacted so that the voter has a chance to resubmit a matching signature or update the signature on the voter registration if the voter’s signature has changed over time.

The voter ID debate is resolved with vote-by-mail. A ballot is sent directly to the registered voter in the mail just as a voter currently receives a voter card in the mail when registering to vote. The debate over whether a voter should show ID at a polling place is eliminated. An ID will be required if a voter chooses to vote in-person at a vote center or elections office but the ID is otherwise substituted by mailing the ballot directly to the voter’s registered address. Vote centers began a decade ago in Colorado in order to expand voter access and also consolidate polling precincts. They have since expanded to other states like Texas and Indiana. Unlike the polling place precinct model, which limits a voter to only using a neighborhood polling place, a vote center allows citizens in a locality to use any vote center in their jurisdiction and are conveniently located at recognizable community landmarks and heavy traffic areas. Studies show a reduction in the cost of election administration and an increase in voter turnout, preference, and convenience when using a vote center model.

Voters [using vote-by-mail] no longer have to wait in long lines to vote. While voters will always have the option to request and cast a ballot in-person at a vote center or an elections office, there are otherwise no lines for voters to wait in when casting a ballot by mail. Vote-by-mail eliminates waiting so that only voters who choose the communal Election Day voting experience have to experience it.

Polling places are paid for by taxpayers. Contrary to popular belief, election officers are paid for their training and day of work. The payment is not much and, if calculated hourly, it is usually less than minimum wage. But multiply the number of election officers in a polling place by the number of polling precincts in a jurisdiction and the cost rises dramatically. Additional costs include the purchasing and maintenance of voting equipment. This includes the voting machines and electronic poll books. Every polling place needs this equipment and all of the supplies and paperwork as well. If the polling places are consolidated to vote centers and vote-by-mail systems, then election administrators need much less equipment and less election officers. Campaigns can also reduce the number of poll watchers and volunteers that are needed. Oregon cut a third of its election budget by switching to vote-by-mail and studies have shown a statistically significant increase in voter turnout in all elections. In fact Washington, California, and Colorado all have similar experiences which is causing other states to research vote-by-mail and vote centers more.

No-excuse absentee voting is legal in 29 states and the District of Columbia. There are only 21 states where voters continue to need a valid reason for voting absentee. In those states if a voter wants to vote absentee and cannot honestly meet one of the valid reasons, the voter has to lie or will be denied what is otherwise their right to vote. It is also less work, simpler, and easier for all to vote no-excuse absentee. Procedurally, there is less paper work for both the voter and the election officers in no-excuse absentee voting. This paper work alone can lead to the long lines experienced at in-person absentee polling places prior to Election Day.

Absentee ballots are always counted. There may be a misconception that ballots may not be counted unless an election is close but that is simply not true. All ballots are counted. Additionally, the secret ballot is not compromised. A bipartisan team of election officers follow specific procedures to ensure the integrity of the voting process and also the privacy of the voter’s ballot. Additionally, the law allows independent observers, especially representatives of the candidates and political parties, to observe, but not interfere, the counting process by the bipartisan team of election officers. In fact, a benefit of the vote-by-mail process is that the bipartisan election officers can ensure a voter’s intent is recorded accurately. For example, using a paper ballot, if a voter neglects to fill in the box next to a candidate’s name and instead circles the candidates, election officers in a polling place cannot help that voter without compromising the voter’s secret ballot. However the bipartisan election officers in a vote-by-mail system can both ensure the voter’s privacy and record the voter’s intent accurately. Recounts have proven the accuracy of a voter’s intent being correctly counted in vote-by-mail the first time rather than a paper ballot scanned in a polling place.

There will always be continuous worries of any voting system, most notably accusations of fraud and coercion. With absentee voting, these are issues that exist today in all 50 states already. We have absentee voting by mail today in part because of our overseas military voters who do not have access to any other method of voting while fighting for our country. More reasons continue to be added for other groups of voters who have difficulty showing up at a polling place on Election Day. Absentee voting is not going away. However we can mitigate the constant issues of in-person polling place voting with the expansion of no-excuse absentee and vote-by-mail systems. These issues include long lines, voter ID issues, voter registration mistakes, most reasons that require a provisional ballot, the many accusations of disenfranchisement and discrimination, police officer and other group presence intimidation, etc. There is no perfect system but right now we have all the benefits and concerns of two systems. Perhaps it is time to limit the concerns of the in-person voting experience by consolidating to vote centers and election offices and expanding the efficiency, cost savings, and management benefits of no-excuse absentee and vote-by-mail systems to protect the integrity, transparency, honesty, neutrality, and accuracy of the electoral system.

Thanks to Dave for his views and for allowing me to share them with all of you!