With all of the wild things that have happened over the past four months, American’s might not even remember the absolute disaster that was the Iowa Democratic Caucus in February.
The chaos was fueled in part by the already confusing nature of the caucus itself, but also by the ill-conceived, nearly last-minute implementation of a smartphone app in an attempt to increase voter turn out.
With the November election closing in, quarantines in place, the coronavirus still very present, and leading public health officials still promoting the use of caution, the need for a safe and convenient means of voting has never been more apparent. California is already jumping on board.
Here are just a few reasons why a national mail-in ballot system is the country’s best option:
It’s already more convenient and safer. There is very little risk of infection via mail-in ballot, whereas with physical polling locations, there’s already been evidence of further spread.
Wisconsin’s April 7 primary led to between 40 to 67 new cases. Now that may seem insignificant, but given the coronavirus’s current reported mortality rate of 7.1%, that’s a possibility of between 2 and 4 preventable deaths, per primary.
