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No, mail-in ballots should not be banned in the 2020 US Presidential elections.
Proponents of mail in ballots often cite voter safety and increased turnout. They claim voting-by-mail is necessary to give everyone a voice during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Supporting arguments · 6
- Absentee ballots are needed because the traditional voting system is brokenAbsentee ballots help mitigate the underfunded and messy US electoral system which otherwise leads to mass disenfranchisement - voting in person can disenfranchise the disabled, those unable to take time off work or childcare.
- Donald Trump cannot win without mail-in votingDonald Trump's supporters will largely vote-by-mail. They must be given this opportunity or he will claim the election was rigged and chaos will ensue.
- Mail-In ballots are necessary to ensure that everyone can vote safelyIn the face of a nationwide COVID-19 pandemic, Mail-in voting is the only way to ensure Americans' constitutional rights without a risk to their lives or health.
- There is no evidence that mail-in voting privileges one partyThe majority of peer-reviewed studies published by reputable academic publishers and universities demonstrate that mail-in voting offers no partisan advantage or disadvantage for either Democrat or Republican party.
- Mail-in voting is not expensiveFor both state and federal governments as well as for individual voters, mail-in voting saves money. For governments, the infrastructure set-up is quickly amortised over time. For individuals, mail-in ballots mean no time off, or childcare costs.
- Mail-in voting is safe from voter fraudAll the evidence suggests mail-in voter fraud is statistically non-existent. The scale at which fraud by mail-in-voting would need to occur to have any impact on the election is impossible to achieve.