Speculation and false claims about the mail-in voting process have spiraled in the past few years. Voters are confused about mail-in voting and the 46% of Americans who vote using this system need clarification.
Unlike in person poll voting, most U.S. citizens may complete a mail-in ballot at any time before November 5th. Timelines vary by state. Eight states automatically send ballots to all registered persons without them having to request one.
Mail-in ballots have been used since the First World War and have been uncontested until now. It is important to note that mail in ballots do not favor a certain party. A 2020 analysis of mail-in voting patterns showed that the majority of mail-in voters are white and tend to be older than 40. Additionally, the mail-in voting process is essential for rural voters and voters that do not have time or ability to work in person. Overall, mail-in voting promotes inclusivity and accessibility.
After Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, he attempted to undermine the confidence of the United States’ citizens in our diverse voting system. He began spreading claims of fraudulent votes and a stolen election, which then became popular and spurred conspiracy theories among his supporters. The widespread acceptance of this belief caused the January 6th insurrection.
One of the most common conspiracy theories claims that mail-in ballots have been cast by illegitimate voters, like dead citizens and pets. Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas, claims that Democrats want to utilize mail-in ballots to enable illegal immigrants to vote for Kamala Harris, rigging the election. He is now suing the Biden-Harris administration over their lack of response to his requests for the citizenship data of registered voters, even as he has acknowledged the vast majority of people he would be investigating are lawful voters.
Claims of dead people voting stem from an incident in Michigan where 851 votes were allegedly completed by dead citizens. However, this was clarified as the citizens who cast those votes died after submitting them.
Mail-in voter fraud accounts for a tiny number of errors in the election process, and it has never happened on a large enough scale to substantiate claims of a “stolen” election. In the 2020 election, eleven citizens submitted fraudulent votes via mail-in ballots. This accounted for less than a hundred thousandth of a percent of total votes, and less than a ten thousandth of a percent of the amount of voters that decide the average election. Additionally, the United States Department of Justice goes to great lengths to prevent voter fraud and punish those who participate in it.
Claims of mass voter fraud are not credible. Threats to democracy are taken seriously by election officials regardless of which party it might favor. As voters, we need to be aware of misinformation about our voting systems, and do our most important duty: VOTE!
