Two things are being conflated in America today: VBM (vote by mail) and the the destruction of the United States Postal Service. Yes, the two are definitely linked. But the fact is that the GOP has been trying to “privatize” the USPS for decades. The USPS is mandated by the Constitution, so they can’t actually dissolve it, but it is a service that serves a group of people they don’t particularly respect—the poor, the rural, the elderly and it puts no money into the pockets of the politicians.
Social Security checks come via USPS. The VA sends out medication via USPS. The mandate for the USPS is to deliver everywhere, which let me tell you, UPS and FedEx most certainly do not. And they do it cheaply, which is why those other companies use the USPS for “last mile delivery.” The vast majority of small businesses use USPS to ship to their customers.
So let’s pretend, just for a minute, that the crisis we see playing out right now in the USPS happened in a year that was not a critical election year. It would still be completely and utterly unacceptable. People’s rent checks would still be late. Their medications would not be arriving. Their bills would be late getting to them, and late getting paid. It’s tempting when we try to talk to people about the USPS to lean heavily on VBM as the reason it’s so important, especially during a pandemic and a general breakdown of a democracy. But there are ways around that (I’m about to talk about them) and if destroying the USPS is seen as entirely partisan because of VBM, nothing will get fixed. Meanwhile fixing the USPS fixes not only VBM, but everything else the USPS does.
If you are experiencing issues with your mail, I recommend going to https://www.uspsoig.gov/form/file-online-complaint and reporting Louis DeJoy for Employee Misconduct. The OIG is currently investigating him, so the more reports they get, the better. The two statutes he has broken (the grounds for misconduct) are:
1) 18 U.S. Code § 1701 (obstructing/slowing mail)
2) 18 U.S.C. § 208 Conflict of Interest due to his owning $30 million in XPO Logistics, a contractor of the USPS.
Now, what to do about voting in an era where your ballot may never show up if you use the USPS to send it in? [Please note: this information is current to the best of my knowledge as of the date of this post. For more, including what you have to actually sign and mail in with your ballot if you’re voting by mail in various states, see: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/how-to-vote-2020/ ]
The following states have drop boxes (NOT MAIL BOXES) where you can drop completed ballots:
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona
California, Colorado, Delaware
Florida, Georgia, Hawaii
Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts
Michigan, Montana, Nebraska
Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio
Oregon, Utah, Washington
Nevada, New Jersey, Wisconsin
The GOP is currently suing Pennsylvania over the use of boxes, so they may or may not have them. Frankly, I wouldn’t trust them. Pennsylvania is a swing state, so if the Trump campaign decides to contest the election, it may be based on those. They may try to force votes dropped in boxes not to count. We need to win without those votes. So if you want to do this, apply for an mail-in ballot, fill it out, and hand it in in person at your local board of elections. If they say they want you to drop it in a box, tell them you’d rather not, that their own site said you should hand it in. (It does: https://www.votespa.com/Voting-in-PA/Pages/Mail-and-Absentee-Ballot.aspx )
What happens if you request an absentee/VBM ballot, and you don’t get it in time? Call your state board of elections and ask where you can go to get one printed out that you can fill out on the spot, sign the security envelope, and hand in. This will often be in your city hall or county courthouse. You can find a list of the numbers for every state here: https://www.eac.gov/voters/election-day-contact-information . (It’s actually a really useful site to go to and familiarize yourself with what the current rules are for your state.) Once they tell you where to go, CALL THAT OFFICE and tell them you’re coming. This is government, you know, where the right hand often has no idea what the left is doing. This will prevent you waiting for hours while they try to figure out how to print a ballot for you.
Well, okay, but what about all those states that don’t have drop boxes? Or what if you’d prefer to hand your ballot to a person? First, see if your state allows early voting. The following states allow early voting using whatever their standard method is (ie: in NY, they use electronic voting at specified locations, in California they use drop boxes/election offices):
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas,
California, Georgia, Florida,
Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts,
Nebraska, New Mexico, New York,
Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota,
Tennessee, Texas, Washington DC, West Virginia
In addition to the above, the following states allow you to do “in person absentee,” where you fill out your absentee paper ballot, and then put it into the security envelope and hand it to a designated human who will check your security envelope signature (and, in some states, if they don’t have a pollbook handy, your ID)
Idaho, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Maine, Michigan,
Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey,
Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota,
Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Again, check the website for your state election information to see the exact rules and requirements. https://www.eac.gov/voters/election-day-contact-information
The best kind of voting is hand marked paper ballots which is one reason everyone is encouraged to apply for an absentee/mail-in ballot. This is because purely electronic voting leaves no paper trail. If machines are hackable (as they are, according to the manufacturer themselves, in Florida, Michigan, and Wisconsin, all battleground states), or if they malfunction, there is no way to have a recount. Voting with a hand-marked paper ballot also means that if you show up at the polls on Election Day with your ballot already filled out (ie: in person absentee, but not early) only to find that for some reason your polling place’s electricity is not functioning, or their internet connection is down, you can still vote.
Request/download a sample ballot as soon as they become available. Fill out your sample ballot. Compare your sample ballot to the ballot you get whenever/wherever you vote. Don’t assume that just because one party’s candidate come first on the sample ballot they’ll come first on the actual ballot. Don’t assume that the parties won’t be flipped in position on the back of your ballot. Take your time. There’s no rush. Fill out your hand-marked ballot (or, if you must, electronic ballot) slowly and carefully to be sure there are no shenanigans.
Let me double back for one second to voting early. Our voting procedure depends heavily on a volunteer force composed primarily of the elderly. They won’t be able to work the polls in the face of COVID. Lines will be excruciatingly long on Election Day, which is another reason to vote early. Also, voting early means that if there’s an issue “oh, I don’t think this looks like your signature” or “do you have a mailing address in our district?” You have time to straighten it out. We want to make this clean and clear with as few provisional ballots as necessary.
Now, sometimes, none of that stuff is available. I know you match my commitment to vote no matter what. So here’s my advice. Check out sales for camp chairs. Bring at least one (more if you’ve got them for the other folks who will be in line). Bring bottled water. Bring warm clothes. Stock up on protective gear—got an N95 mask? That’s the day you want to use it. Assume that they are going to challenge you at the polls if your state is in play. Bring your ID. Bring proof of residency. You shouldn’t have to, but if there is one thing we’ve learned with this administration, it’s that “should” does not apply to them.
Okay, I know that was a lot to take in. I’ll have more at some point, but right now, take care of yourself, and check now to be sure that
1) You are still registered and haven’t been purged from the rolls (You can find out at https://www.vote.org)
2) You’ve requested an absentee or mail-in ballot (some states differentiate). Now is the time to get started. You can find links to request VBM/absentee ballots for your state at https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/how-to-vote-2020/