The recent attacks on the United States Postal Service have caused such confusion and anxiety around voting by mail. Some people have been convinced that voting by mail leads to fraud (spoiler alert: that’s not true). Others are just worried that, due to the slowdown of the USPS, our votes won’t be counted if we vote by mail (also not true, and especially not if you send them in well before the deadline). It is undeniable that someone (we won’t say who) is trying to suppress our fundamental right to vote. If you feel like you are watching something out of a horror movie, you’re not alone. We feel it too.
But we have to stay focused. These attacks are purposeful and are meant to distract us from our goal: to make sure every eligible voter has the information and resources they need to be able to vote, whether by mail or in person.
Information and resources. That’s what we need. Check out these links below to make sure you are sharing the correct information — then share with everyone you know!
- FACT: Voting by mail does not lead to fraud. If someone tries to tell you that it does, tell them to watch this video:
- FACT: Your mail-in ballot will count as long as you start the process for vote-by-mail early & fill out your ballot correctly. Use our voting tool to get signed up to vote by mail.
- FACT: Thinking through a voting plan can increase the likelihood of someone actually voting by 10 percent. We are currently working on building customized voting plans that are specific to a person’s county, schedule, and preference. If you’d like to help us collect research for this tool, visit our crowdsourced voting information page and fill out the information for your county! Later, we will put the data into an easy-to-use voting plan tool, which we will share with you!
- FACT: The biggest threat to vote-by-mail is misinformation. So spread the word!
The fight is far from over. But if we stay focused, understand the facts, and help our neighbors get the resources they need to be able to vote – we can make sure every vote is counted in November.
Photo at the top by Tiffany Tertipes on Unsplash
