Maconites can ‘safely and securely’ vote by mail in November’s election. Here’s how

The coronavirus pandemic introduced thousands of Georgians to voting by mail.

States responded to the pandemic by creating or emphasizing new voting methods, installing drop boxes for absentee ballots and encouraging absentee and early voting, said Joey Wozniak, the project director for Vote Early Day, an initiative to inform voters about their early voting options.

“All of America right now is witnessing a huge change to our entire election infrastructure, and it’s our job, as one of the largest networks of organizations talking about voting early, to get the word out to people to say, ‘Hey, you can vote early,’” Wozniak said. “Ultimately, the name of the game right now is to let people know that they can vote early so that they do not have to make a choice between exercising their civic duty or their own health.”

The Vote Early Day initiative, which will be observed on Oct. 24, launched in early March, and Wozniak said as these new voting options are being discussed more, this is the time to show people how to vote early to ensure they have confidence in the election infrastructure.

Election security

President Donald Trump and his campaign have raised suspicions in voting by mail in past months by alleging widespread vote-by-mail fraud.

In an election security briefing for reporters on Aug. 26, the FBI announced they have found no evidence of any coordinated fraud schemes related to voting by mail in the November election despite Trump’s claims, according to NPR.

However, intelligence officials continued to warn that foreign countries, such as Iran, Russia and China continue to engage in overt and covert influence operations in the 2020 presidential race.

Wozniak said people in the United States have been voting by mail during troubling times throughout American history, and multiple states have had successful mail-in voting systems for years, he said.

“We want people to vote safely and securely, and voting early, whether that’s by mail or in person, is a safe and secure option that most people across our nation can take advantage of,” he said.

‘Safe and secure’

Mike Kaplan, chairperson of the Macon-Bibb Board of Elections, said absentee voting is a safe and secure way for people who can’t leave their homes during the COVID-19 virus outbreak to vote, and he believes it improves voter turnout, he said.

“I don’t think the pandemic is going to get better. I think it’s going to be about where we are now, which means that the more people to vote absentee and early, the better off we are,” Kaplan said.

President Trump encouraged North Carolina voters Thursday to test the integrity of the voting system by voting in person and by mail, which state election officials warned is a Class 1 felony.

Voting twice in the same election is a felony in Georgia and is punishable by one to 10 years in prison, a fine not to exceed more than $100,000 or both.

The runoff election

The Macon-Bibb County Board of Elections wrapped up its second election for the year in August with more than 10,000 people submitting absentee ballots for the runoff election, he said.

Macon-Bibb County had a 37% turnout at the runoff election, double the turnout of normal county runoff elections, Kaplan said.

Although the county received around 18,000 absentee ballots for the general election in June and 10,000 in August, Kaplan said the COVID-19 virus outbreak hasn’t had a large impact on in-person voting. The county had around 17,000 people vote in the 2018 election, he said.

“That’s the exact number we had live at the polls this time, which was remarkable to me that it didn’t seem to bother anybody, and we had a large number of people vote absentee in-person, which is early voting, than we had in prior elections, so I’m not sure the pandemic scared a lot of people from live voting. People were very passionate and got out and voted and made a difference,” he said.

More than 80% of American voters will have the option to cast their vote by mail in the November election, according to The Washington Post.

Absentee ballots and fraud accusations

Although Kaplan said he can understand why people have concerns about absentee voter fraud because it is the only way to vote in Georgia without a positive identification requirement, he said the Bibb Board of Elections doesn’t see a lot of fraud through absentee voting.

The Board of Elections checks voters’ signatures on their absentee ballots against the signature on their voter registration card, but there is no other way for them to check people’s identification. They give voters an extreme benefit of the doubt when it comes to checking the signatures, Kaplan said.

“Our last election had a 35% turnout, so if there’s fraud involved in absentee ballots, they’re terrible crooks,” Kaplan said. “Not having a positive form of identification, I could see some people thinking that it will lead to a tremendous amount of fraud, but I just don’t believe it’s there. I think there’s fraud there, of course. Do I think it’s rampant? No.”

With a 35% turnout, Kaplan said there is simply not enough voter fraud to actually change an election.

The Washington Post reported that they found only 372 cases of potential fraud in mail-in voting in 2016 and 2018 out of 14.6 million ballots cast.

‘A critical part of voting’

Kaplan said Georgia’s new voting system is strong because people are able to check who they voted for on paper before submitting their final ballot, and it’s nearly impossible to tamper with the machines with the security measures they have in place, he said.

“Absentee ballots are a critical part of voting especially during this pandemic,” he said. “I think people should vote absentee. I encourage people to vote absentee. It’s the easiest and safest way to vote.”

If people plan to submit their ballot by mail, Wozniak said they should plan to give the post office at least seven days before the election in order to ensure it will arrive at the Board of Elections in time to be counted.

Kaplan said he has complete confidence in the U.S. Postal Service, but if people don’t feel comfortable submitting their absentee ballot through the mail, they can submit their ballots in the drop-off box outside of the Board of Elections office.

The Georgia Secretary of State’s office created a website at which people can apply for an absentee ballot online at ballotrequest.sos.ga.gov, or people can fill out an absentee ballot application form and submit it to their local Board of Elections office, Kaplan said. Georgia has a no excuse absentee ballot, which means people do not have to give a reason to receive an absentee ballot.

People can go ahead and request a ballot, but they will not receive a ballot until after the state develops the ballot which will happen 45 days before the election, Kaplan said.

People who are 65 years old or older can automatically receive a ballot in the mail if they have previously requested to receive ballots in the mail.

If people vote in-person, Kaplan asked them to be patient because the Board of Elections is still practicing social distancing guidelines, cleaning machines in between each use and limiting the amount of people in the building at a time, so it will take some extra time to vote in person because of the safety measures implemented.

Masks will not be required to be worn to be able to vote, Kaplan said.

If people have requested an absentee ballot and have not received it by Oct. 1, Kaplan said they should call the Board of Elections to check the status of the ballot, and he warned that people should not wait until the day of the election. People can also check their ballot’s status on their My Voter Page on the Georgia Secretary of State website.

If a person has requested an absentee ballot but decides to vote at the polls, Kaplan said they should bring the absentee ballot with them so the Board of Elections can void that ballot.

“Being able to vote is the greatest privilege you’ll ever have, and I call it a privilege because it can be taken from you. It’s a right, but it’s also a privilege. So, I hope people take advantage of that privilege because it’s a big election coming up, and I want people to vote,” Kaplan said.

This story was originally published September 7, 2020 at 7:00 AM.