The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Take the time to count every vote
In an unprecedented year, it’s only natural that we have an unprecedented election. It’s the first in most of our lifetimes to occur during a global pandemic, and one in which an unprecedented number of votes will be cast absentee. While we’re used to watching the results roll in on live TV on election night, this time it may take days — possibly even weeks — to call the winner.
And that’s OK. Accessibility and accuracy are far more important during a close election than immediate results.
This year, 659,894 Connecticut voters have been sent their absentee ballot for this election. That’s more than five times the number of votes cast absentee by Connecticut voters in 2016. In July, following a lawsuit from the ACLU of Connecticut representing the League of Women Voters of Connecticut and NAACP of Connecticut, Connecticut’s legislature passed a law allowing any registered voter to vote absentee for the Nov. 3 election due to COVID-19. This has already enabled many voters who may have not been eligible to vote absentee in years prior to cast an absentee ballot for the first time in this election. Even before the pandemic, voting absentee was becoming more common nationwide, but it’s more popular than ever this year because it provides a safe, secure and convenient way for many voters to cast a ballot.
When the pandemic started, 34 states had laws permitting all eligible voters to cast their ballots by mail in November — leaving Connecticut at the time as one of only 16 that didn’t. In most other states, this will not be the first time all eligible voters can vote absentee, but it will be a first for ours.
It’s a good thing that vote by mail is becoming more accessible — all eligible voters should have this option for every election, regardless of whether there’s a pandemic. But more mail-in ballots means more time spent counting, because these ballots take longer to process. While a special law limited to this election will allow the state to begin processing absentee ballots a few days before Election Day, counting absentee ballots still takes time. The deadline for voters to request an absentee ballot is the day before Election Day, which means there may be even more absentee voters than the current estimates. The deadline for voters to have their ballots received by their town clerk is 8 p.m. on Election Day, and as of eight days before the election, at least 200,000 absentee ballots that were sent out in Connecticut have yet to be returned. This means we may not have a winner on election night. This isn’t a reason to be disappointed: A lag in results is not only expected, it’s a good sign that the process is working as it’s supposed to. Each and every vote counts.
That’s not to say that media pundits or even the candidates themselves
We can mentally prepare ourselves for a long wait in declaring the winner so we know to dismiss any premature claims of victory.
won’t try to preemptively declare victory. But just because someone says they are the winner doesn’t make it true. Any results reported on election night will be based disproportionately on votes cast in person, as mail-in votes continue to be counted. And there’s a distinct partisan divide based on voting method: of the absentee ballots returned in Connecticut so far, 51 percent have come from registered Democrats and 33 percent from unaffiliated voters, compared to 15 percent from Republicans. Results based on in-person votes will inevitably be skewed along partisan lines. One candidate could easily win the majority of in-person votes, but could ultimately lose once all mail-in ballots are counted. And remember: voters, not candidates or pundits, decide the winner.
Announcing a winner too soon is not just likely to be inaccurate, it’s dangerous. Conflicting reports of election results undermine election integrity and chip away at voters’ trust in the process. It’s important we temper our expectations and prepare for many days, possibly even weeks, before a winner is announced. While it isn’t reflected in the nonstop metabolism of our news cycle, patience is a democratic virtue.
There are good reasons for why the increase in mail-in ballots may slow election results. It takes more time to process mail-in ballots for mundane reasons such as taking the ballots out of envelopes, to applying security protocols to verify each mail-in ballot, just as ballots cast in-person are also subject to verification. Ensuring security and accuracy means more time.
We may also see delays at the polls, which will have their own pandemicrelated adjustments to keep voters and poll workers safe. Some 455,861 votes have already been cast in Connecticut, and we’re also expecting high turnout numbers across the nation, which is a good thing: our democracy is strongest when all voices are heard. But taking necessary safety precautions and counting every vote may mean delays in official results.
While some delays are inevitable, there are ways we can help the process run more smoothly. All voters, whether they choose to vote in person or absentee, should make a plan ahead of time. Those who can vote early by voting absentee should. We can mentally prepare ourselves for a long wait in declaring the winner so we know to dismiss any premature claims of victory. It’s important to remember that we, the people of Connecticut, have the power, and the more of us who vote, the more sound our democratic process.
The goal of any democratic election is to represent the will of the people, and to achieve that goal, we must count every single vote. Every Connecticut voter’s voice deserves to be heard. Let’s prepare for an extended election process to make sure that happens.