Absentee ballots for all should be easy call

There is nothing partisan about absentee ballots. There is no clear advantage for either party in a system where everyone eligible to vote is able to do so from the safety of their homes. Unfortunately, much like wearing a mask, absentee ballots have become a political issue because one side apparently sees a potential benefit from turning a practical issue into an argument.

Mail-in voting stands to be one of two major issues, along with police accountability, to be covered at a special legislative session this summer, and it’s easy to understand why. Gov. Ned Lamont has issued executive orders allowing everyone in the state to vote absentee through the state’s primary elections this summer, but legislation is required for the order to apply to the November election, which will decide state legislative seats, all five U.S. House seats and the presidency.

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill responded to Lamont’s initial order by sending out applications for absentee ballots to all registered members of major political parties in the state in advance of the August primary vote. To proceed with absentee voting, voters must sign and return the application in time for a ballot to arrive. It’s a straightforward process, and one that is not new to Connecticut.

Even with some of the strictest laws in the nation, state residents vote by absentee ballot all the time. They just need to prove they are unable to vote in person on the day of the election, either because they are out of town or physically unable to make it to the polls. With a deadly pandemic making the chance of contracting a serious illness a frighteningly real possibility, it stands to reason that anyone who wants to vote through the mail should be allowed to do so.

Though Merrill and Lamont are Democrats, there’s nothing inherently political about such a movement. But Republicans, likely following the lead of the nation’s top elected Republican in the White House, are trying to make it a partisan issue. They are claiming, without evidence, that more mailin voting means more chance for fraud, even opening up a “voter fraud tip line” to take in bits of evidence of supposed malfeasance. It’s unclear what they are going to find, other than that voter rolls aren’t always updated as fast as they should be.

But that’s a long way from fraud, and Republicans should drop their objections to the plan moving forward. Many states already do fine with full mailin voting, and there is no discernible rise in voter fraud or an appreciable gain for either side in doing so. There are more registered Democrats than Republicans in the state, so more Democratic primary ballot applications have been sent out, but that would be true under any circumstances.

This is an issue that ought to have bipartisan agreement. Republicans need to drop the talk of fraud and get on board with mail-in voting for anyone who wants to go that route in November. In the middle of a pandemic, it’s just about the least we could ask of our political leaders to make voting a little bit easier for everyone.

Many states already do fine with full mail-in voting, and there is no discernible rise in voter fraud or an appreciable gain for either side in doing so.