NBC News’ First Read has put together a list of the “tangible, deliberate, and unusual decisions” Trump has made to sabotage the election in November:
“Trump installed a campaign donor as the new Postmaster General who instituted new “cost-saving measures” that have slowed mail delivery nationwide and sparked fears about absentee ballot delays.
“He said yesterday that he would block emergency funding for the Postal Service, adding that USPS doesn’t “have the money to do the universal mail-in voting. So therefore, they can’t do it, I guess.”
“He put more stock in an intelligence report finding that China prefers a Biden presidency than in Russian efforts to denigrate Biden, despite intelligence officials saying that pro-Trump election interference from Russia “was the far graver, and more immediate, threat.”
“He equated foreign interference from Russia to Democrats “meddling” in the election because they are promoting mail-in balloting during the pandemic.
“He suggested that Florida’s mail-in ballots are more trustworthy than other states’ because Florida has had “two great Republican governors.”
“Jared Kushner met in person with Kanye West, who is trying to get on ballots nationwide and recently did not deny that he’s doing so as a spoiler to Biden’s campaign.
“GOP operatives in at least four states have aided West’s attempts to get on the 2020 ballot.”
Make no mistake about it, Trump is actively trying to undermine not only public confidence in the 2020 election, but he’s trying to sabotage the election itself. It’s not surprising given that he’s an authoritarian who hates to be seen as weak and a loser. So, we are going to need to step up despite the pandemic and make sure that all of our votes and our neighbors’ votes are counted. Today, we’ll consider two options: returning mail-in ballots directly and voting early. There are other things we can do, but let’s save that for another discussion.
Yesterday, I heard a political analyst on the radio say, “83 days is a lifetime in politics.” Sure, it can be, but only for some big event to intervene. It’s pretty clear that presidential preferences generally lock in over the summer. It’s not always true, but when we look at the data we see that most of the electorate has very strong feelings about supporting one of the candidates. The polling has shown that 50% of the electorate say they will not support Trump under any circumstances. That’s bad for him, in case that’s not clear. But, the analyst on the radio is wrong in another important way. There are not 83 days (it’s now 82) until the election. The election will begin the moment that the first voters in North Carolina receive and return their mail-in ballots after September 4th. That is 24 days from now (although it’s probable that no voter will receive a ballot until maybe the 6th at the earliest. Elections are different than they used to be. Election Day is not that anymore; it’s the deadline for submitting your vote either by mail or in person (either early or on the day itself). It’s the voting deadline that is 82 days away.
Every single battleground state (even when liberally applying the term) allows mail-in voting. The table below shows the dates when those states will start mailing ballots to voters. The latest state to do so is Nevada, which must mail ballots out before October 14th – which is 63 days from today.
Considering the efforts to sabotage the Postal Service for the express reason to destroy mail-in voting (Trump admitted it yesterday), you might be worried about whether your mail-in vote will even be received, let alone counted. The good news is that there is an alternative to mailing your vote back. The bad news is that you have to leave the house and may come into contact with other folks. But, the risk is (IMO) minimal compared to the risk of your vote not being counted. The trick is to return the ballot to election officials yourself.
If your state does not have mail-in voting, it does have absentee voting. Absentee voting is mail-in voting that is permitted if the voter has a recognized excuse from voting in person on Election Day. This could be because the voter is out of town on business or because she is ill or other reasons (it can vary by state). However, most states now have excuse-free absentee voting. It’s essentially the easy way for states to convert absentee voting to mail-in voting. So, if your state doesn’t have mail-in voting, it will have absentee voting. Here are the states that still require an excuse to use absentee voting: New York; Indiana; Kentucky; Tennesse; South Carolina; Mississippi; Louisiana, and; Texas.
Every state that has mail-in voting will allow you to drop-off your ballot in person at the state or county elections office. Most likely, there will be a drop-box either outside the office or just inside the lobby. All you need to do is place your ballot in the drop-box. In some states and counties there will be other drop-boxes located in convenient locations throughout your county. Trump is even trying to get the courts to invalidate these remote drop-boxes as open to voter fraud (even though I can’t think of one case of voter fraud via drop box ever happening).
One way you can help make sure ballots are returned is to organize a collection service. You can pick up completed and sealed ballots from your neighbors and deliver them to a drop-box. Many folks out there might personally prefer putting their ballots in the mail to return because they don’t want to risk getting sick if they venture to the elections office or a remote drop-box. Using the collection service model, you can be their post office for this limited purpose. There is a very important CAVEAT here: make sure your state and county permit someone to deliver other people’s ballots. I don’t know which states do not permit that, but I have heard that some do or are thinking of prohibiting it. Check and make sure! Most likely, the Democratic campaign in your area knows the local rules so you can ask them if you can’t get an answer from public officials.
There is another way to ensure that your vote is submitted and counted without having to appear at a ballot station on Election Day: vote early. Early voting is not mail-in voting. It is essentially an extension of Election Day that gives folks anywhere from ten days to a month and half (depending on the state) to appear and cast a ballot. Your local ballot station will not be the place to cast an early ballot. See the table linked below for location information for your state (it’s usually at the elections office or another public agency). With early voting you just appear at the location and vote as if it were Election Day. The advantage of early voting is that you can choose the day and time that you vote and – for this reason – there is likely to be few if any other people there at the specific day and time you choose to vote. That’s never true on Election Day in busy precincts except during the late morning and mid-afternoon hours (and that might not even be true in the busiest precincts).
Voters also have the option of voting early in 39 states as well as three of the states that otherwise utilize only mail-in voting for elections. Most open early voting for about two weeks before Election Day, but several begin over a month before. New Jersey starts early voting 45 days before the election. That means that voting will begin in the Garden State in 37 days. This table will help you figure out when and where to vote early in your state. If you do not see your state, you probably cannot vote early. But, don’t let this table convince you that your state does not have early voting. Check with your state or county elections office to confirm that. One weird quirk of early voting is that several states end early voting before Election Day. No, I don’t know why. I could guess, but that’s all it would be.
Finally, the New York Times has a really good compilation of data about mail-in, absentee, and early voting at https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/08/11/us/politics/vote-by-mail-us-states.html?smid=em-share.