To the editor:
2020 stands to be the most important election year in our lifetimes. The news media, television, and Internet are full of policy and advocacy differences, occasionally extreme and inaccurate. Opinions and expectations of Lincoln voters also vary widely. Lincoln voters highly value having their ballots counted and believe that this civic duty is the foundation of our elective democracy.
But in this era of the coronavirus pandemic, voters and poll volunteers share concern for their personal safety on Election Day. Bad weather on that day used to be just an inconvenience, but now the potential to catch a deadly disease is totally new and threatening. Brave citizens around the country have waited for hours in long lines, sometimes in bad weather, to cast their vote in their designated polling places. In several cases, the number of poll places has been reduced and located out of reach for many voters.
The Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives and the Secretary of State recognize the threat to voting in this environment and have drafted new processes and considered new statewide legislation to apply to the September 1, 2020 primary election and the November 3, 2020 general election. Some of those processes include expansion of absentee voting, addition of vote-by-mail, longer early voting periods, and secure outdoor dropboxes to deposit completed ballots. Lincoln now allows for early voting by mail and has expanded absentee voting eligibility; residents can apply for these provisions with the Town Clerk’s Office.
Absentee voting has been used frequently in Lincoln. States began absentee voting in the 1800s, and by 2018, 27 states have adopted “no-excuse” absentee ballot laws, something now proposed for Lincoln and Massachusetts. Nationally, vote-by-mail and absentee voting have occasionally been criticized as being open to fraud. However, a review of voter fraud studies done between 2009 and 2017 found such cases to be rare or nonexistent.
The current legislative bills focused on vote-by-mail include Senate Bill S2653 (An Act Relative To Voting by Mail and Early Voting) endorsed by Sen. Michael Barrett, Senate Bill S2654 (An Act Establishing Vote By Mail in 2020), and House Bill HD5026 (An Act Establishing Vote By Mail in 2020) as endorsed by Rep. Tom Stanley. The Election Laws Committee can amend any of these bills or return them to the appropriate Senate or House committee for consideration and possible further amendment. Timing is critical in order to finalize these bills in time for election implementation.
Sincerely,
Gary Davis
20R Indian Camp Lane, Lincoln