By Editorial Board
-Editorial-
There’s a lot of drama now surrounding the mail-in ballots ahead of the upcoming Nov. 3 elections. A lot of people are worried about the many potential flaws mail-ins present and have already presented. The fear is understandable.
We shouldn’t have to worry about if our vote is actually being counted or if someone else in a household is filling out the form with their choices and submitting it. Political parties are clashing over the issue as well, with claims of voter fraud coming from all sides.
While mail-in ballots are convenient for those who don’t want to venture to the polls right now because of COVID-19, it’s hard to ignore the issues surrounding them. So what other options are there?
Well, the issue begs the question of why can’t we do call-in ballots?
When you think about it, everything else can be done via the phone. Shopping, paying bills, meetings, it can all be done with a simple phone call. We give some of our most sensitive information over the phone, with special verification, of course, but it works.
A lot of things nowadays have transitioned to either phone or video. It’s the most reliable way to get and receive information without having to leave your house.
Why can’t we do that with voting? Have a system where everyone voting by phone has to verify their identity with a PIN number so that we can avoid any fraud problems.
It would remove the fear of our paper ballot getting lost in the mail or the conspiracy theory that the Post Office is trashing certain votes (or simply losing them, which, let’s be honest is bound to happen.)
It’s also a lot quicker. It would save time and money. That’s not to say that call-in ballots would be completely foolproof; no voting model is. But it would at least provide an extra layer of comfort.
Obviously, there’s not enough time to bring this to fruition before the elections. But it’s something we should consider for the future.