Help older voters safely cast ballots
COVID-19 has caused much of our social infrastructure to rapidly evolve, including bringing sweeping changes to the election process. However, with change comes risk.
According to a New York Times article in August, a record 76 percent of Americans will have the opportunity to vote by mail in 2020. Yet the improper funding of the U.S. Postal Service will increase the probability of mail being delayed and voting deadlines being missed. Since the majority of mail-in voters are likely to be older adults, who we’ve encouraged to stay home to avoid exposure to the deadly COVID-19, that means their votes are most at risk of being missed or undercounted.
For decades, older Americans have had a high percentage of voter turnout compared with other age groups. We must ensure they are still able to participate in this year’s election in the way that best protects their health and safety — particularly through mail-in voting.
According to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center, “around two-thirds of all Americans (66%) — and 64% of those ages 65 and older — say they would feel uncomfortable going to a polling place to vote.” One consequence of not adequately funding the U.S Postal Service is a large and knowledgeable demographic in our community could be locked out of the electoral process this year.
Reach out to the older adults in your life to ensure they have a ride to a polling station if voting in person, or assist them in utilizing mail-in voting. It may be too late this year, but to ensure older adults have a safe opportunity to exercise their right to vote in the future, contact your representative and senators and demand the Postal Service be funded so it can carry out its constitutionally mandated mission, including the support of mail-in voting.
In addition, older adults traditionally have been highly involved in the electoral process, not only by voting but also by volunteering their time at polling stations. In fact, in the 2018 general election, nearly 6 in 10 U.S. poll workers (58 percent) were 61 and older, including roughly a quarter (27 percent) who were older than 70, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of government data from that year’s Election Administration and Voting Survey, or EAVS.
If it isn’t safe enough for older adults to volunteer in person due to COVID-19, polling stations will have a difficult time filling those necessary roles. In the 2018 EAVS survey, roughly two-thirds of jurisdictions (68 percent) said it was very or somewhat difficult to find enough poll workers for that year’s general election.
We need to ensure that if older adults want to volunteer their time, they can do so safely. To do so, everyone involved in the electoral process should follow CDC-recommended protocols, including wearing masks, practicing social distancing and washing their hands frequently.
People older than 65 have lived through major, world-shaping events and experienced the dramatic ways elections can shape our political system. Their perspectives are incredibly valuable, and we must ensure these experienced individuals have a voice in rebuilding our nation following the effects of the pandemic. The least we can do for them is give them a fair opportunity to safely share their voice — and their time — with the next generation.
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