VOICES: Vote by mail critical for those with pre-existing conditions

In years past, mail in votes have typically been used for absentee ballot purposes. People who couldn’t be in their home district the day of the election — due to things like vacations, moving or studying (think students) — could vote this way. This year, things look a little bit different. They have now made mail-in voting more largely available due to the pandemic. According to The Washington Post, though, Indiana, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and South Carolina do still need an excuse to vote by mail.  

Over the course of the last several elections, vote by mail/absentee voting has increased in popularity greatly. According to the U.S. Election Assistance Committee, the popularity of absentee/mail in voting has increased from 12.1% and only being absentee in 2004, to a combined 23.6% in 2016.  

You can apply to vote by mail in multiple locations. Places like vote.org or voteamerica.com give you the ability to apply for mail-in voting. They go state-by-state, providing instructions and links. Both the Democratic and Republican party headquarters for Erie County will also walk you through the process over the phone. The deadline to apply for mail-in voting in Pennsylvania is 5 p.m. on Oct. 27, Oct. 31 in Ohio, and it must be postmarked by Oct. 27 in New York. 

On vote.org, you have to go to the menu and then scroll to the state you’re registered in. You then put in your information and they send you your application in the mail. Voteamerica.com has a similar system in place. On this website, you just go to “Vote by mail” on the homepage and put in your information. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, they also have state specific application requests.

For Pennsylvania vote by mail requests, you can go to pavoterservices.pa.gov to request a ballot. I personally got mine through a women voters group called Supermajority reaching out to me via text. It could be as simple as not ignoring what seems like spam.  

There are some who have trepidation with voting by mail, and that’s understandable. The Washington Post says that 671 mail sorting machines have been recently removed by the U.S. Postal Service. It's unclear if that will have an impact on vote counting. Charles Stewart, for The Washington Post, outlined additional faults to watch for, including: mail failing to reach its destination and incorrectly filled out ballots. It's worth noting that rumors that there's "rampant fraud and that mail ballots favor Democrats," have both been disproved by research, according to that same publication.

The Associated Press says that the Postmaster General Louis DeJoy was also subpoenaed over postal service issues. The AP stated: “He has appeared before Congress twice in recent weeks to testify about the removal of the agency's blue collection boxes and mail sorting machines, as well as changes to trucking operations and overtime hours that postal workers say are resulting in delays. Amid a public outcry, DeJoy said he halted some of the changes until after election.”

There is a way around any possible problems. You can hand deliver your vote to a ballot dropoff box, therefore circumventing the USPS entirely. According to eriecountypa.gov, Erie County's is at the courthouse located at 140 W. 6th St. in Erie. They also say you can hand it in to your local voter registration office. These places will most likely be less crowded and you will be able to avoid any USPS hassle. Erie’s voter registration office is located at the courthouse. The next closest office would be 903 Diamond Park in Meadville. Venango County’s is located at 1174 Elk St. in Franklin. Mercer County’s is at 120 Diamond St. in Mercer.  

If you are more susceptible to getting COVID-19, or interact with someone who is, please consider voting by mail for the safety of yourself and others.

Samantha Mannion is a staff writer for The Spectator. She can be reached at edinboro.spectator@gmail.com.