Let’s move forward like vote-by-mail is here to stay

As we saw during this primary election, voters are, for good reason, moving away from in-person voting to vote-bymail. Yet delays in delivery by the United States Postal Service or by voters mailing their ballots too late could alter election outcomes. Since it is clear that vote-by-mail is here to stay, let’s act like we really want votes to count by making it more convenient. The old days of only voting on Election Day are, thankfully, a historical footnote. Long lines, broken machines, poll workers who do not follow training or the law, running out of ballots, hanging chads, delays in reporting results and impacts of weather on election turnout should become distant memories.

Having your ballot in advance is not only convenient, it leads to a more informed electorate. Lots of races and many important and complex ballot initiatives can cause voters who first see their ballot in the voting booth to bypass certain races and questions, or make a snap judgment.

The 213,000 vote-by-mail ballots cast in Broward County during this primary, more than double the 2018 primary and three times the 2016 primary, was record setting. In fact, the 2020 primary vote-bymail total exceeded the number of voteby-mail ballots cast in 2018 and the 2016 general election. At the same time, earlyvote ballots and Election Day ballots were the lowest since the 2014 primary, and the overall voter turnout percentage was only slightly better than the 2018 primary. Clearly, voters have embraced vote-bymail in Broward County.

The Broward County Commission and Supervisor of Elections initiated urgent efforts to increase the safety protocols surrounding COVID-19 for both early voting sites and polling locations during the primary. But, wary of COVID-19, voters obviously preferred the vote-by-mail ballot process. As we now move to the November election cycle, we know COVID-19 is a continuing reality.

Under Florida law, vote-by-mail ballots are only counted if delivered to the Supervisor of Elections before polls close on Election Day, irrespective of when the voter mailed the ballot. In fact, based upon Sun Sentinel reporting, approximately 1,250 ballots were pulled and delivered to the Broward Supervisor of Elections by Postal Service employees fearing that if the ballots were delivered to the sorting center in Miami, those votes would not be delivered before polls closed; so far, more than 200 additional ballots have come in and were not counted. Having the potential of 1,500 valid votes not counted in Broward could change the outcome of local races and, when accumulated across the state, could be enough to alter who is elected President of the United States.

Voters not wanting to risk delays by the Postal Service can drop their vote-by-mail ballot at an early voting site during early voting, as well as two other locations. Prior to Election Day, of the 213,000 vote-by-mail cast, only 18,000 were delivered to one of the 22 early voting sites.

When early voting stops on the Sunday before Election Day, voters can only drop their vote-by-mail ballot at the two Supervisor of Elections office locations — one in Lauderhill and the other at the government center in downtown Fort Lauderdale. For some strange reason, voters are not legally permitted to drop their completed ballots at their local precinct on Election Day. We can do better than this if we really want to encourage more and smarter voting. Florida law allows dropboxes for vote-by-mail ballots at all supervisors’ main offices, all branch offices and all early voting sites. These secure dropboxes may “be placed at any site that would otherwise qualify as an early voting site,” according to Florida law, including “any city hall, permanent public library facility, fairground, civic center, courthouse, county commission building, stadium, convention center, governmentowned senior center or governmentowned community center.”

Florida does not limit the number of secure dropboxes that may be made available. In fact, we could have secure dropboxes for pedestrians and motorists conveniently placed while maintaining social distancing; even some county libraries may have drive-thru windows. Florida law requires that the secure locations be staffed by an elections office employee or a sworn law enforcement officer. There is an argument, under Florida law, that the Supervisor of Elections could deputize others, such as county employees or city clerks, who are already legally responsible for aspects of elections. Expanding availability of secure voting dropboxes is not novel. Recent reporting indicated that Maryland, Virginia and D.C. election officials are dramatically increasing the number of vote-by-mail dropboxes for the upcoming November election. Surely, other states, counties and Supervisors of Elections around the country will follow.

Mike Ryan is mayor of the City of Sunrise.