By Washington Post Editorial Board
May 10, 2020 at 6:30 a.m. CDT
A MONMOUTH University poll released Wednesday found that only 16 percent of voters cast ballots by mail in recent elections, yet 51 percent say it is at least somewhat likely that they will do so in November. As the covid-19 pandemic continues, more people will conclude absentee voting is the safest option. And they will be right.
But much of the country is not ready for a surge of absentee voters. Federal leaders must help immediately — or explain why they instead prefer an unsafe and chaotic November election.
Ill-preparedness could produce electoral calamity. Sixteen states require absentee voters to have a valid excuse. All of these states should declare that coronavirus fears qualify as one. But that’s just a first step. Serving millions of new absentee voters will be a massive logistical challenge for most states.
Leading up to Wisconsin’s dreadful April 7 primary, the state failed to dispatch absentee ballots to thousands of voters in time for them to be postmarked by Election Day. Widespread covid-19-related poll closures meant these voters had to choose between risking their health in long lines at a handful of polling places and not voting. Ohio officials struggled with a surge in absentee voting in their just-completed primary, and many voters found it difficult or impossible to participate by mail, despite a mail-in ballot deadline extension of more than a month and exceptionally low turnout — two factors on which officials must not rely come November.
Avoiding such failure on a larger scale in November will require investment and planning at a time when state revenue is collapsing. States and localities must buy letter-opening machines, mail sorters and ballot scanners. They will need space to accommodate equipment and staff practicing social distancing measures. They will need money for printing and postage. States must bolster absentee-ballot-tracking systems and ensure they have the ability to notify voters whose ballots were discarded because of a signature mismatch or other issue.
States must also prepare to conduct better in-person polling, as many Americans will refuse to transition quickly to mail-in balloting, and some people have no postal address or need vision or other assistance. States must ensure procedures, protective gear and infrastructure are in place to protect staff and voters at remaining polling places. This, too, will cost money.
The federal government is best situated to fill funding gaps and encourage the planning that must happen now. Lawmakers committed $400 million in Congress’s last economic rescue package. That number falls far short of the need. A recent study from a bipartisan group of election experts found that funding requirements in just the five states they examined — Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania — totaled at least $414 million.
Taking a cue from President Trump, who opposes wider mail-in balloting because he thinks it helps Democrats, congressional Republicans have resisted, raising bogus concerns over voter fraud. States could put reasonable limits on “ballot harvesting” — that is, when third parties collect and submit absentee ballots on behalf of voters. But voter fraud of any type is extremely rare in the United States, and it is no excuse to keep voting difficult or dangerous in the midst of a pandemic.
Congress has committed trillions to staving off an economic catastrophe this year. Why would Republicans skimp on preventing a democratic disaster, too?