A bipartisan election Oversight Committee commissioned by the Michigan Senate to report on the state’s election procedures and possibility of fraud recently gave thumbs up to the process. No fraud. Whew – good news.
I’ve always been impressed with the professionalism and friendliness of local election workers. It must be a long day for them. Steady voters, my husband and I would agree you could feel their sense of duty, seriousness and respect for the task.
Michigan has a long history of supporting its older voters – a wise choice. Michigan has more than 1.7 million people 65 and older.
The United Health Foundation tracks the percentage of voters 65-plus who vote in Congressional elections by state. Michigan ranks 9th highest in the nation with 74.1 percent of the age 65-plus electorate voting. Impressive.
A key tool in providing access to older voters is absentee ballots. Voting by mail or absentee voting – the terms are interchangeable – goes back to Colonial times.
According to historian/author Alex Keyssar, in 17th century Massachusetts, men could vote from home if they were vulnerable to Native American attack.
The military has been afforded absentee ballot rights since the American Revolution. It was during World War I when non-military reasons for being away from home became allowable for voting by mail. We want people to vote.
In the decades since, a broad array of reasons for voting absentee became acceptable. In the 1970s, some states started offering absentee ballots as a choice for all: state and voter discretion.
Prior to the pandemic, five states were entirely mail-in, 29 states allowed “no excuse” absentee ballots, and 16 states allowed voters access to absentee ballots with an excuse: travel away from home, lack of transport, work, caregiving, hardship, infirmity, etc. Michigan fell into this last category.
A number of states that generally require an excuse, including Michigan, allow older voters to vote absentee even without an excuse. This has been a godsend. Those who are immobile or sick, have a disability, who cannot drive, have no mass transit and so on, have access to their ballots by mail.
When my husband could no longer stand in lines, he was automatically sent an absentee ballot application – sweet.
Recently I heard from colleagues around the state about distress calls from older residents who heard about possible Michigan plans to issue provisional ballots to voters who don’t have a photo ID, or whose signatures cannot be verified, and that provisional ballots would only be counted after a voter presented a photo ID and documentation of a current address within six days of an election.
Provisional ballots are a bit different. Per Wikipedia, use of a provisional ballot assumes the voter’s eligibility to vote is uncertain. Federal law requires states to offer provisional ballots as a means of helping assure all voters have a chance to vote, even if their eligibility is uncertain.
Instead of turning someone away, provisional ballots are given to voters whose eligibility to vote must be resolved before their vote is counted. Resolution requires extra steps and usually in-person verification within a tight time frame. Unnecessary provisional ballots cause delays and raise costs.
Long-time voters were incensed that they would be considered ineligible. Particularly after driving stops, not everyone has a photo ID, often clarity of one’s signature declines or is not possible with health conditions, and the ability to personally present proof seems contrary to the need for an absentee ballot. Older and disability constituencies are very concerned.
I was relieved to hear our election systems are working well. Nobody wants fraud, and many ideas for improvements are good. Some are not.