The claim that mailing a ballot to every active, registered voter will make our election system less secure is grounded in the same unfounded logic, yet the same trumped up voter fraud fearmongering is being used to try and stop S.15.
Maine lawmakers are considering changes to the state’s election laws aimed at expanding voting by mail options, but the proposal faces opposition from local election clerks who say many of the changes would be cumbersome, costly and in many cases unnecessary.
Those voting yes on the Strong Amendment believe it is irresponsible to execute vote-by-mail elections before options for ballot security provisions are even studied by the Secretary of State’s office. Those voting no believe absentee ballot security measures are not necessary in Vermont.
Supporters of S.15 and all-mail voting have been arguing that vote-by-mail is a measure to address “voter suppression” and to make voting more equitable. But evidence shows this not only to be a Big Lie, but exactly the opposite of the truth.
S.15 passed in the state House of Representatives on May 11, 2021, by a vote of 119-30. The overriding purpose of this bill is to make permanent the Covid-19 emergency measure of mailing “live” ballots to all active voters on the statewide checklist regardless of request.
The House gave preliminary approval on Tuesday to a bill that would make universal vote-by-mail a permanent feature of Vermont’s election system.
State Rep. Samantha Lefebvre, a member of the House Committee on Government Operations, told TNR’s Matthew Strong that election bill S.15 lacks safeguards for mail-in voting that other states use for their vote-by-mail systems.
Civic engagement and voter participation is good — but it should be preceded by citizenship. The Senate’s decision sets up a slippery slope — should non-citizens be allowed to vote for state legislative positions? For governor? For Congress? For president?
The Department (DOJ) notified Republican State Senate President Karen Fann on Wednesday that it was monitoring the state’s audit of 2.1 million ballots cast in Maricopa County, Arizona, in 2020, according to the Associated Press.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a sweeping election reform bill into law Thursday morning that limits absentee voting, bans ballot harvesting and outlaws private funding for election-related expenses.
The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday discussed the cost of S.15, a bill that would require Vermont to send live ballots to every voter on the statewide checklist with or without a request.
This teenage voting idea is nothing more than a means to an end and it does not have the good of these young people in mind. Not at all.