Why don't more states in the US go to a vote-by-mail system?

I think two reasons, but it is pure guessing on my part, I have never heard specific arguments for and against by those who might decide these things.

One, it makes fraud easier. People can fill out votes for grandparents who maybe don’t realize a vote was cast in their name, and adult children who didn’t bother to be interested in voting yet, etc. Of course, this can happen anyway, because most states do have some sort of mail in voting option I would think? Don’t they? Or, are there literally states who don’t offer it? Our military needs the option from every state. Or, every state they can be stationed to.

The other reason I thought of is simple resistance to change.

@JLeslie – I disagree. Vote by mail makes fraud more difficult, because there are different and better controls on the voting process.

Some political parties prefer the rough and tumble election day free for all confusion, because it is easier to deny people their voting rights when there are dozens of people watching.

@elbanditoroso Can you explain to me why it is more difficult? I am not arguing, just seeking detailed information. I have never voted by mail. My parents did it for years, because they maintained their residence out of state while my father was active duty. I don’t know if they still mail in now that they are residents in the state they live in.

When the board of elections gets a VBM request, they have more time to make sure that the application matches the registration. And since they mail out the ballot, they can be assured that it is delivered (by the post offices) to the addressee at the proper address.

When people are standing in line, there can be folks with fake IDs and using dead peoples’ addresses, and the volunteer voting precinct people have no tools to verify what the voter says. All they have is a notebook and maybe a laptop computer.

The process is cleaner at the Board Of Elections.

As @JLeslie pointed out, VBM is all over the place, it just isn’t the only way to vote.

Vote by mail does not increase participation in large elections. It does help get people to vote in small local elections, such as a school parcel tax. But a lot of people don’t take the time to mail the ballot back.

I prefer participating in the democratic process at a local precinct that allows me to make my decision at the final moment.

@elbanditoroso I understand it goes to the person’s address, but for instance a lot of teens live with their parents and a lot of elderly are visited by adult children.

@jleslie, the implication of your question and comment is that family members are fundamentally dishonest and would cheat by voting on behalf of their parents.

I don’t buy that people are fundamentally dishonest, and I definitely don’t agree that family members would vote fraudulently for others in their family. My guess is that they are much more likely to do that with a stranger. Not a family member.

@elbanditoroso I don’t believe they would vote against their relatives wishes, at least I think the majority would do right by their relative, but it could be a question of no vote or vote. I knew someone who talked about getting a mail in for her grandmother, the woman was slipping mentally. I have no idea if she actually did it. The grandmother would have voted democrat for the Presidential race, and that is what the grandaughter wanted too, that was the only real concern she had that voting cycle that she mentioned. A girlfriend of mine dragged her mother to the polls when it was Bush v. Gore. She called me before there was any media saying anything about FL and hanging chads and said, “JL, I hope my mother voted for the right person that thing was so confusing, and they would not let me help my mother in the booth.” a few hours later all hell broke loose about the vote in south FL. At home she could help or fill it for her mom. They would vote for the same people, but a lot of times family members wouldn’t. The ballot could easily become open instead of secret, and their might be a kind of “peer pressure” or actually someone else filli the ballot. But, then my mom thinks that happens at the polls too often, that people vote who shouldn’t be. Either way the percentage of fraud is probably very very small.

You can always vote by mail by getting an absentee ballot.

Oregon and Washington are the only two states that have voting-by-mail-ONLY, as in, no polling places. I think all states offer an absentee ballot option; I know I’m on the permanent absentee mailing list.

We had/have (?) mail in ballots in our city. The reason I’m not sure is that about 5 years ago one of the candidates ran quite the scam and fraudulently sent in hundreds of ballots. The city amended the mail in ballots after that.

Yeah, I think every state offers absentee ballots, but you actually have to be absent to use one. In Oregon (not sure about Washington), you can still physically take your vote to a drop-off center, it doesn’t have to be mailed back.

@augustlan You have to be absent? Are you sure? I didn’t realize that. Isn’t it reasonable that anyone might have trouble getting to the voting booth on the particular Tuesday it is being held?

From what I’ve learned being a pollworker in CA, a person doesn’t have to be absent from their voting area on election day, to have their vote count if they’ve been issued an absentee ballot.

A voter who has voted using an absentee ballot, can bring the enveloped ballot to their assigned polling place and have it deposited through the ballot slot in the ballot box.

If they no longer have their absentee ballot and can’t surrender it at the polling place, they can vote at the polling place, have their completed ballot put in a Provisional envelope, and then deposited through the ballot box slot.

Those ballots won’t be fed through the precinct ballot reader, which electronically tallies the votes once it accepts the ballot. Instead they’ll be taken to the County/City Inspection Center and counted, once it’s verified that the voter hasn’t cast any other ballots in that election.

Some people collect sticker and the ones you get at a polling place are really valued. Besides, it feels more, ‘here we are, all together doing our patriotic duty and voting in this little booth.’ It’s some how more personal than sending it off in a stamped envelope, anonymously, alone, unnoticed, by your self.

I got my absentee ballot today!

I feel this election is mostly a formality; all of the offices up for election only have one candidate running.