Georgians should understand the facts regarding absentee voting, since the coronavirus isn’t going away in 2020. Fact One: The current push across America for mail-in voting in November is not a Democratic plot to win elections. Vote-by-mail hasn’t helped one party more than the other. Nationwide, roughly the same share of Republicans and Democrats voted by mail in 2016.
Fact Two: Five states do all elections by mail; all attest that it is safe and secure. One is deep-red Utah.
Fact Three: Absentee voting is not fraudulent. Saying that is a distraction usually argued by Republicans who don’t believe Fact One. Republicans will not lose elections if everyone votes by mail. Voting fraud is extremely rare. That’s a fact.
Fact Four: Recent non-partisan Trump campaign polling shows three-fourths of Americans favor mail voting. Many Republican election officials, including New Hampshire’s and Nebraska’s governors, agree. Republican officeholders in 16 states urge absentee voting.
Fact Five: The rule allowing absentee voting in Georgia without giving a reason why was expanded by the Georgia Republicans in 2005, when stringent voter ID laws were passed, mainly because Republicans didn’t want to be inconvenienced by the new laws when they voted in person.
I am a 70-year-old poll worker. I just notified my county office I won’t work the June polls. I voted absentee. All Georgians should consider it. Waiting a few days for election results isn’t going to kill us, but voting in person might, with coronavirus still lurking about.
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