Can Vote-by-Mail Help Stop the Spread of the Coronavirus?

 

Millions of Americans are staying home to prevent spreading the coronavirus. As a result, they have turned to technology to do business and to talk to family and friends.

However, some groups are suggesting that voting in this year's presidential election might depend on mailing ballots². They say the answer to staying safe may be in the hands of the United States Postal³ Service.

Most Americans, age18 or older are used to voting at their local polling place. This year's general election in November could possibly be different – going out to vote in large numbers might be considered too risky⁴.

Already, 14 states have postponed⁵ their primary election voting because of the virus. The state of Wisconsin is holding its primary on Tuesday as planned.

The postponements have caused a big problem for the presidential nominating system.

For this reason, election officials across the United States are considering mail ballots. Vote-by-mail offers a way to protect the health of voters while permitting them to exercise their rights as citizens.

"We're talking about an emergency situation, but there is bipartisan support...for vote-by-mail election reform," said Amber⁶ McReynolds. She is chief executive officer of the National Vote at Home Institute. It is a not-for-profit group that supports mail-in ballots.

Absentee ballots that are mailed to voting centers already exist, but voting by mail would be a change for many Americans. Those against the change, and even some supporters, wonder if there is enough time to put a secure system in place by November.

Creating a new vote-by-mail system would be a big logistical problem, researchers Collier Fernekes and Rachel Orey wrote in a report for the Bipartisan Policy Center.

The recent $2.4 trillion coronavirus stimulus⁷ bill passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump⁸ includes $400 million to help elections officials deal with coronavirus issues.

But those who support vote-by-mail are asking for more. Democratic Party members in the U.S. House and Senate have written bills to give all Americans the ability to vote by mail.

National vote, run locally

The United States will vote on November 3 to choose the president and members of Congress. However, election systems are run by state and local governments. Each has its own rules and laws about voting.

Of the 50 U.S. states, five hold all their elections mostly by mail: Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

There are large numbers of mail-in ballots in the other states. These "absentee" ballots are for voters in the military, those traveling at election time or those who cannot go their polling place for physical reasons.

Western and Midwestern states, and the District of Columbia, now permit anyone to use an absentee ballot¹ for any reason. They include California, the state with the most voters. In the 2018 Congressional elections, more than 8 million Californians sent absentee ballots by mail, more than 65 percent.

Reuters news agency says Wyoming and Alaska have said they will use mail ballots this year.

It is estimated that nearly 25 percent of ballots were vote-by-mail in the 2016 presidential election.

A reality check

There are, however, problems. They include how to get Americans used to a whole new system and how to provide security.

Elizabeth Howard advises the Democracy Project of the Brennan Center for Justice on legal issues. She has had some experience with trying to change an election system quickly.

In August 2017, she was an official with Virginia's Department of Elections when security problems caused her to change the whole system. Although she was successful, she said changing the nation to vote-by-mail by November would be difficult and costly⁹.

Words in This Story

primary– n.a vote that decides a party's candidate for a particular office in a general election

bipartisan– adj.relating to members of two political parties

logistics– n.the activities involved in organizing and planning a complicated event or process that involves many people

stimulus– n.government spending meant to cause economic growth

absentee ballot– n.a ballot cast by a person who is not able to vote in person at their voting

1 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

2 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

4 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

5 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

6 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

7 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

8 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

9 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。