- Question
What do early voting and vote-by-mail controversies mean for democracy in the US?
Record numbers of Americans have cast their vote early before election day on 3rd November in person and by mail. Long queues outside polling stations and fears of voter fraud are the subject of great controversy. What do these controversies tell us about the state of democracy in the US?
More people casting early and postal votes strengthens democracy in the US
Expanding early and postal voting opportunities enables Covid-secure voting. And ensures those unable to attend a polling station on election day are not excluded from the electoral process. Giving voters more control over how they vote means more Americans can vote, strengthening democracy in the US.
The realities of early and postal votes show the US democratic system is at breaking point
This position holds that the controversies over early and postal voting reveal a US democratic system at breaking point. It argues that fears of uncounted votes and fraud erode confidence, that slow counts risk electoral limbo, and that long queues amount to a form of voter suppression.
- Fears of voter fraud undermine confidence in the democratic process
- Early votes and votes-by-mail take longer to count, and could leave the US in electoral limbo
- Fears that some votes might not get counted undermine confidence in the democratic process
- Long queues outside early voting stations should not happen and are a form of voter suppression
Having more early and postal votes weakens US democracy
Elections should take place on a single day, and wider use of early and postal votes introduces unnecessary and undesirable room for error in elections. Voting in person on election day leads to the most democratically legitimate outcome.