America seems to have succumbed to the convenience of using mail-in ballots at the expense of chain-of-custody, security, and transparency. Even former president Jimmy Carter (GA-D) and former presidential chief-of-staff James Baker (R) warned us that mail-in voting was the surest way to corrupt elections in the future, and they admonished policymakers to avoid the adoption of the scheme.
It wasn’t too long ago, when we voted at the polls, politics and politicking were limited to that activity up to the moment we entered the voting booth to cast our vote. Elections themselves were, for the most part, non-partisan. But that changed on July 23, 2024. On that date, the APWU National Executive Board voted unanimously to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for the next President of the United States. While they like to hide behind an acronym, APWU is the American Postal Workers Union.
In Georgia, another postal workers union (NALC), which is the National Association of Letter Carriers union, sent a letter from NALC President Don Griggs, which says, in part: “If Donald Trump wins the upcoming election, it could prove an existential threat to our union and our contract. Your vote matters: consider how the consequences could affect you, your job, and our union when deciding how to vote.”
The Georgia letter also includes dire warnings that “Donald Trump and his allies have put together an extensive plan for the next year, if he takes office and appoints anti-union allies throughout the executive branch,” the letter reads. “Our union cannot afford the risk.” APWU and NALC have just made the election process itself partisan, and that is a threat to neutrality.
For those who claim that the vote-by-mail scheme is non-partisan and secure, it is utterly absurd. If you wouldn’t send $1,000 cash through the mail for lack of trust, why would you send your ballot, worth far more, via USPS, knowing their leadership has openly endorsed a candidate?
Ballot chain of custody is obliterated when a voter mails their ballot into the election offices all over America. The only way to regain some semblance of security and transparency in our elections is to have watermarked paper ballots, counted by hand, at the precinct level, entered into a clear collection box, counted on election day; and I would add, counted in front of the people who might want to watch.
Of course, uniformed and overseas citizen absentee voting act ballots, known as UOCAVA ballots, would not be affected by a change in Arizona public policy but would still be at risk if handled by a known partisan carrier.
Originally published at: https://www.verdenews.com/opinion/commentary/finchem-vote-by-mail-is-now-even-less-secure/article_74d03de4-8266-11ef-842e-6f3aca4fa776.html