How many ballots did you receive for this year’s presidential election?
I received three – one for me, one for a woman who moved to another state six years ago, and another for a man who unfortunately died of pancreatic cancer in 2019.
“Vote early and often,” anyone?
I don’t personally know the people assigned to these ballots aside from knowing that they were previous owners of my house within the last decade. Yet, there I stood with their opportunity to vote in my hands at my mailbox.
This isn’t the first time. I doubt it will be the last.
Back in April, I received multiple ballots for the primaries when my state scrambled to pull together an alternate plan for an election that originally didn’t have a mail-in voting option.
Never mind that I’m the only legally registered voter at my residence and had not previously received multiple ballots. I knew this occurrence was out of the ordinary for my district, having been a chief judge for previous elections.
So, what’s going on?
The COVID-19 global pandemic has upended voting plans and patterns all year, of course. Officials are scrambling and I’m sure, many are doing their best.
Yet, what if their best is not good enough?
In response to the ongoing new normal, I received three invitations this past summer for ballots – one for me and one each for the out-of-state woman and the deceased cancer victim.
Multiple attempts to contact officials about this error were met with unanswered phone calls, voicemail recordings, and outdated websites on the processes of voting.
I only submitted my request for a ballot – but still received the three envelopes.
If this is happening to me, how many more illegitimate ballots are floating around America right now?
Does anybody know?
Both sides of the political aisle have proffered the idea that the results of the November election cannot be trusted. From mail-in ballots to tampering with the polls on Election Day, town hall meetings and campaign statements have dedicated time to address how they will respond to election fraud should either candidate not be the favored winner on November 3rd.
Many, including President Trump, are skeptical that we’ll even know the outcome of the election on the day itself. Some have questioned if we would have results even as late as Inauguration Day.
With my three ballots in my possession, I can understand their concerns.
Many like to claim voter fraud is rare – but if ballots are being mailed to the deceased and nobody seems to care, it’s no wonder cases don’t make the headlines.
Just because a crime isn’t prosecuted doesn’t mean it’s rare – it could be prevalent and mean that officials aren’t spending time and resources on enforcement of the infraction.
At this point, I can only hope and pray that others who find themselves in similar predicaments will do what I have done – but I’m not convinced.
Let’s pray that for this election, Americans will get out there and vote – once. Every vote matters. But we only get one, regardless of how many ballots are delivered to your mailbox.
Photo is from Shutterstock.
