Despite Trump’s Claims, Mail-in Voting is a Safe Way to Cast Your Ballot

President Trump made a significant number of false assertions in the first presidential debate. His most blatant dishonesty was in regards to the supposed ‘dangers’ of mail-in voting. 

During the debate, Trump claimed that “the ballots are a disaster,” and “it’s a rigged election.” These claims are false, since the occurrence of fraud within U.S. elections is rare, whether voting takes place in-person or by mail. Because of the health hazards surrounding in-person voting this year, state governments in nine states and the District of Columbia will offer voters the choice of sending mail-in ballots without a prior request. 

Five of those states in which voters automatically receive mail-in ballots are Colorado, Oregon, Utah, Hawaii and Washington, which have previously determined their elections primarily with mail-in votes. There have not been any major instances of fraud within these states since the origin of mail-in ballots in 2001. Oregon has had the most cases of fraud with just 15 instances. 

The apparent and prevalent ‘fraud’ Trump discussed during the debate was that some voters received two ballots. "They're being sent all over the place,” Trump said. “They sent two in a Democratic area, they sent out a thousand ballots. Everybody got two ballots. This is going to be a fraud like you've never seen.”

What Trump may have been referring to was the error in Fairfax County, Virginia. An estimated 1,000 voters in the county opened their mail to find two ballots. Despite this error, the fraud Trump rants about never happened. According to Fairfax County officials, when anyone returns a completed ballot, the decision is marked in their voter record so they cannot vote twice, thus preventing fraud. 

The latest news in mail-in voting happened on Wednesday night on Oct. 7, when the Justice Department announced it would lift a previous prohibition of electoral fraud investigations during the month leading up to Election day, since those investigations could potentially influence voter turnout. However, in a memo to federal prosecutors, the Justice Department granted prosecutors the ability to probe suspicions of election fraud. These semblances of doubt have inhibited voters’ trust in mail-in ballots, so it is important the investigation occurs before the final vote tally, despite previous precedents. Depending on the findings, Americans may change their views about the validity of such voting, hence why the topic of casting a ballot remotely remains crucial to the upcoming election. 

To counter the misinformation surrounding mail-in voting that Trump spread at the debate, public officials must inform American citizens of the minimal risk of fraud when voting by mail. It is important to only express true information about this voting system as well as its benefits to the American population.

Some of these under-discussed benefits include convenience, safety and increased voter turnout. For example, mail-in voting saves time for Americans by eliminating the time having to stand in line at the polls. It is also safer during the COVID-19 pandemic, since voters do not have to interact with others or poll workers, as well as it forfeits the touching of machines. Mail-in voting also increases turnout in elections, usually in groups that are otherwise less likely to vote, like first-time voters. This is most likely because of the ease it offers for young people who are in college or work full-time. 

When Colorado switched to mail-in ballots, the state saw an increase in voter turnout of nine percentage points among all residents, with young people seeing an increase of 16 percentage points. Turnout also does not change the results of an election, as Trump has claimed. Despite the increase in turnout, neither Democrats or Republicans receive a greater increase in vote share either, thus debunking Trump’s assertions about the system’s effect on accuracy. 

Making mail-in voting accessible to all Americans is not to help the Democratic or Republican party –– it is to help keep Americans safe while ensuring they participate in the election to the fullest extent. Vote-by-mail is a key aspect of an election, and it is especially important in 2020 when the election falls amidst a global pandemic. 

President Trump warned of the dangers of voting by mail without sufficient evidence to support his claims. Photo courtesy of Element5 Digital.