If the 2020 Republican Primary taught Iowans anything, it should be that sending an absentee ballot request form to every voter hurts conservatism — badly.
It’s perhaps the biggest reason Congressman Steve King lost his race to Sen. Randy Feenstra.
One political operative noted that 57 percent of mail-in ballots in the Fourth District of Iowa came from people who either did not vote at all in the last four primaries or voted just once in the previous four primaries.
“Feenstra wins precisely because of that expanded turnout,” said David Kochel on Twitter. “We should send Paul Pate a thank you vote.”
Now, Democrats like Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer are encouraging their supporters to push for universal vote-by-mail across the country.
“It’s simple: the option to vote by mail will save lives,” Finkenauer’s email said. “Seniors who care about protecting Medicare and Social Security shouldn’t have to put their lives in danger. Students who struggle with college loan payments shouldn’t have to decide between their health and their future. And union members who want to vote for pro-worker safety leaders shouldn’t have to put their already-threatened health at risk to make their voices heard.”
I am a little different than many in the media who think it would be a utopia if everyone eligible voted did so. There is no way to say this without being rude, but there are a lot of under-informed voters.
And there are others who simply lack any information at all.
I have this crazy idea that, considering all that has been done to defend and protect our right to vote, we could take the chance and just show up on Election Day and vote. And if you don’t want to do that, then it should be your responsibility to request an absentee ballot.
It’s called being an adult. Yeah, sometimes I guess it can be rough.
Few things are as sacred as our ballot. And it makes me uncomfortable to add unnecessary middle men to the process.
Voting by mail simply is not as secure as voting in person. Logically I’m not sure how anyone could make that argument.
The fact that Democrats are desperate to make it a reality should also provide caution.
But that isn’t what the opposition to the idea should be about. It’s a bad idea all around.
Americans are already lazy when it comes to their effort to follow politics.
Now, if you want to remove all party labels from the ballot and make people really, truly know who they’re voting for, I’m open to that. But that’s another conversation for another day.
For now, let’s do what we can to preserve our right to vote and not cheapen it.
