How this virus will impact the general election in November isn't entirely clear, but one thing almost certainly is--vote-by-mail will be an important component of the 2020 elections in the "new normal" of corona.
If the virus sticks around, or if it comes back after summertime, vote-by-mail could represent the majority of votes cast. VBM would appear to greatly enhance the chances of one or the other party claiming election results are illegitimate.
For D's worried about Trump not leaving the WH if he loses....or R's concerned that VBM might favor Dems chances, or that the D's desperate to oust Trump to might try to hide votes and steal the election...VBM only amplifies these concerns. And of course, threats of repeated foreign interference in our elections represents another complicating factor.
Both parties better establish agreement on exactly how a vbm-heavy election will be monitored on a bipartisian basis and how to ensure fair elections -- by, like, yesterday. This includes ensuring budget needed to pay for vbm and associated voter education activities are in place. The virus stimulus includes $500M for all this....it better be enough and if it's not, then more should be allocated. Just as importantly, the 2 parties better not wait until fall to start discussing and aligning on ways to make vbm virtually unassailable to fraud...Otherwise our democracy could finally burst at the seams.
Here's hoping there's a treatment for the virus by Nov, or it just away on its own or is somehow abated, such that vbm isn't really that big a deal by election day. But I wouldn't bet on it.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ains-momentum-but-it-s-not-fast-cheap-or-easy
If the virus sticks around, or if it comes back after summertime, vote-by-mail could represent the majority of votes cast. VBM would appear to greatly enhance the chances of one or the other party claiming election results are illegitimate.
For D's worried about Trump not leaving the WH if he loses....or R's concerned that VBM might favor Dems chances, or that the D's desperate to oust Trump to might try to hide votes and steal the election...VBM only amplifies these concerns. And of course, threats of repeated foreign interference in our elections represents another complicating factor.
Both parties better establish agreement on exactly how a vbm-heavy election will be monitored on a bipartisian basis and how to ensure fair elections -- by, like, yesterday. This includes ensuring budget needed to pay for vbm and associated voter education activities are in place. The virus stimulus includes $500M for all this....it better be enough and if it's not, then more should be allocated. Just as importantly, the 2 parties better not wait until fall to start discussing and aligning on ways to make vbm virtually unassailable to fraud...Otherwise our democracy could finally burst at the seams.
Here's hoping there's a treatment for the virus by Nov, or it just away on its own or is somehow abated, such that vbm isn't really that big a deal by election day. But I wouldn't bet on it.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ains-momentum-but-it-s-not-fast-cheap-or-easy
