Voting Options

This year has been very abnormal and many aspects of people lives have been affected. Now voting for the next president will be too. The pandemic is raging and has shown no signs of slowing down, therefore in person voting will not be possible because of the coronavirus. It seems like mail in voting will be one of the primary options for voting this year. Many oppose mail in voting for a plethora of reasons. The main argument against it, has been voter fraud which is a very valid argument. At the other end of the spectrum, voters say it allows them to stay safe and vote from home. If mail in voting isn’t allowed, voters options are in person voting or online voting, the problem with online voting is how easily it can be tampered with as we saw during the last election. In person voting us unsafe for most people. 

What are the risks and benefits of voting by mail?

There are many pros of voting by mail. The major one is, that voters will be able to vote safely from the comfort of their home. There is very large percentage of people who don’t vote. They say its because voting is a major hassle, because they have to wait in long lines and many would rather spend their time doing other things. With mail in voting, it is convenient for most of the people who find in person voting tedious. This is a very good thing, as voter turnout will greatly increase but this plays into voter fraud. Increased voter turnout leads to many questioning the integrity of the votes, because of how easy it is to fake votes with the mail system. A large amount of money would have to be given to USPS, which is already being discussed by the House of Representatives. If this bill which would give a substantial amount of money to the USPS doesn’t pass it will make mail in voting extremely difficult and slow. Mail in voting is very important, but it has to be done right or else it could very easily be disregarded and pushed to the side.

What other ways can I vote?

In person voting is still allowed in some states such as Montana. But other states only have online voting like Texas and Tennessee, these states political affiliations do play a part in this. Voting by mail is not allowed in all states. Voting by mail in states which don't allow it, is known as absentee voting, and depending on the state require a excuse/reason. 

Pros and Cons of Online Voting 

Online voting is a very controversial topic and is being debated currently. In 2016 online voting was used, and some hints of Russian meddling was found in the election. This is obviously a major problem, and if someone can hack into the voting system it will create a massive problem because of how it changes the democracy which the U.S prides itself on. But not all aspects of online voting is negative. Online voting is very convenient for many and is arguably easier than mail in voting but has more potential for fraud.

Conclusion 

Mail in voting is good and is very beneficial for many people, because of how easy it is. But that also allows it to be very easily manipulated. While online voting has the same appeal as mail in voting if not more of an appeal to many, if tampered with online voting would have a more continuous results with more long term implications. Because of the pandemic I do not recommend in person voting but the choice is yours. Voting is a way to let your voice be heard and is a large part of the United States and it's foundation as a democracy. If you can vote let your voice be heard.

Citations

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/19/politics/mail-in-vs-absentee-voting-2020-election/index.html

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/why-vote-mail-option-necessary

https://my.lwv.org/illinois/chicago/article/pros-cons-mail-voting

https://www.axios.com/how-to-vote-by-state-2020-307c3d17-ee57-4a1b-8bad-182ca1cdb752.html