The United States inched closer toward returning to pre-COVID era normalcy on mail-in voting recently, as the Supreme Court struck down a lower court’s ruling that had blocked key components of a Trump administration executive order on the issue.
Previously, the expectation was for everyone to vote in person, with absentee ballots requested for special circumstances. Like any number of supposedly temporary measures during the COVID era, though, liberal conventional wisdom now asks us to accept universal mail-in voting as some kind of sacred human right. The reason is never fully explained, but the unspoken reason likely has to do with making voting as easy and low-effort as possible.
The executive order in question asks for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to ensure that mail-in ballots are only delivered to eligible voters in different states, using lists of adult U.S. citizens. It doesn’t end the practice of mail-in voting, but seeks to cut down on any fraud or errors that arise from the practice. Much like voter ID efforts, Democrats have incessantly objected by claiming that fraud and illegal immigrants voting is rare, without explaining what is inherently wrong with ensuring that voter databases are up to date and accurate.
A related United States Postal Service (USPS) regulation arising from the executive order would potentially block mail-in ballots from those not on a federal list of eligible voters. A federal judge subsequently blocked the regulation, ensuring that litigation surrounding the issue continues as the midterms approach.
Much has been made about the supposed confusion and chaos the Trump administration has supposedly created around mail-in voting. Of course, there’s an easy fix for this: voting in person. It is not as though voting was previously a difficult process, despite Democratic sob stories of long lines and the supposed grave injustice of potentially having to show voter ID at the polls.
Like everything in politics, though, there is Democrats’ stated reason for advocating mail-in ballots – maximally-convenient voting as a constitutional right – and their actual reason, which is to ensure they bank as many low-information anti-Trump votes as possible for the midterms. Hopefully, this recent move throws a wrench into their plans.
