Mail-in voting which has become the latest flash point in recent times has witnessed widespread manipulation of the absentee.
In as much as the system is created to give people a chance to exercise their franchise, there are others out there who are taking advantage of the vulnerability of the system and stealing votes or tampering with the number of votes mailed in.
Though many downplay the threats to security and the questionable integrity of the electoral officers, electoral fraud does occur; jeoparding free and fair elections.
There have been many reported cases of electoral fraud recently following mail-in voting. These undermine the integrity and credibility of the system.
Highlighting the 2020 presidential election of the United States of America in retrospect, the Heritage Election fraud database showcased a sample of about 1300 proven election frauds. Yet, many other cases were unreported and potential cases were not investigated.
It is worth noting that election fraud cases often involve absentee ballots which are done outside the supervision of electoral officers and away from the observation of poll watchers in insecure settings. At times unforeseen crises arise during the mail balloting.
The Virginia State Board of Election recorded six mail boxes broken in October which contained absentee ballots at Richmond. Hudson County of New Jersey was arrested for discarding more than 1800 pieces of mail including 99 absentee ballots in a dumpster, after an investigation conducted by the U.S Department of Justice.
Mail-in voting does introduce new risks; it could be easier for someone to fraudulently vote on behalf of someone else or for someone to tamper with the ballots.
Furthermore, one might be more concerned about coercion or vote buying with mail ballots.
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A political operator cannot join someone at the polling booth to verify the particular candidate one voted for but the operator could go to someone’s home, and pressurize them to vote a particular way while watching as the ballot form is filled and submitted in the mail.
Another problem is that people who are registered may later be removed from the rolls because of the inability to vote in several recent elections. This could also induce bias.
For these reasons, the mail-in voting system should be discouraged in forth coming elections if true democracy is to be maintained. Let the ‘in-person’ voting system be maintained and upheld so that our electoral system would not lose its credibility and transparency.
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If ever the government wants to use mail-in balloting to allow the minority who would not be able to come in person to vote, proper measures must be taken to avoid multiple mail balloting.
Voters’ identities should be pre-determined, and only valid voters can get a ballot in the mail.
THERE IS A NEED TO STOP MAIL-IN VOTING TO MINIMISE ELECTION FRAUD.