Thank you, Angelo, for your recent editorial regarding the need to vote by mail in the November general election. In this time of a global pandemic, when public health is at risk, voting by mail is the safest way to conduct elections. It is baffling, therefore, why Gov. Scott has not just simply made the decision to go ahead with mail-in ballots.
Some people have said that voting by mail leads to voter fraud. However, the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, which lists nearly 20 analyses and studies assessing voter fraud, reports that fraud rates remain “infinitesimally small.” Indeed, since 2000, for example, Oregon has sent more than 100 million mail-in ballots and documented only a dozen cases of fraud. Colorado, Hawaii, Washington, and Utah also conduct their elections by mail. And, because voting by mail is long-established in Vermont, the Secretary of State already has security procedures up and running.
Voting by mail will protect the health of Vermonters and strengthen our democracy by making it safer and easier for more of our citizens to vote. Moreover, we have the expertise and $3 million in federal funds to make this happen.
It’s not a hard decision for Gov. Scott to make. It’s not even bold leadership — it’s just being a leader. Gov. Scott must decide without delay. We need to offer this safe, secure, and accessible means of voting for all in the November election. Vermonters should not have to wait for the Legislature to enact yet another bill to make this happen when the Governor can do it himself now.
Representative Robin Scheu
Middlebury