President Donald Trump discusses the issues behind Universal Mail-in Voting which, he explains, is not the same as Absentee Ballot Voting.
With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2020
Articles on Mail-in Ballot Issues
Pennsylvania’s mail ballot problems kept tens of thousands from voting in a pandemic primary
Voting early enough was the key to successfully casting a ballot by mail in Pennsylvania last month. At least three weeks before the June 2 primary election, to be precise.
Voters whose mail ballot requests were processed after that point were less and less likely with each passing day to end up successfully voting, according to an Inquirer analysis of state data.
The Philadelphia Inquirer by Jonathan Lai, Posted: July 30, 2020
Liberals can’t deny the complications of counting mail-in ballots: Goodwin
A fundamental and tragic fact of life in America today is that whatever President Trump is for, most media and half the country instantly reject. Even when he’s clearly right, the zombie-like resistance leaps into frenetic opposition.
Take the case of universal mail-in voting.
Trump insists that the plans of some states, such as California and Colorado, to counter the pandemic by mailing a ballot to every registered voter is a formula for disaster. It will, the president says, guarantee mayhem and cast doubts on the November results.
Nonsense, shout the usual suspects. That’s unfounded, he’s making it up, there’s no evidence, blah blah blah.
Read Full Article on NY Post Website
Vote-by-mail experiment reveals potential problems within postal voting system ahead of November election
Mail-in voting, for many, is as simple as sending a letter, but rules vary across the country for when a voter can get their ballot and when it should be returned. In 2016, more than 73,000 out of 33 million mail-in ballots arrived too late to be counted.
Many Americans are expected to vote by mail for the first time in November 2020 because of coronavirus concerns, so “CBS This Morning” sent out 100 mock ballots, simulating 100 voters in locations across Philadelphia, in an experiment to see how long one should give themselves to make sure their vote counts.
“We’re gonna see somewhere between probably 80 and 100 million voters receiving their ballot that way,” former Arizona election official Tammy Patrick told “CBS This Morning” co-host Tony Dokoupil. Patrick is now a senior adviser for the elections program at Democracy Fund.
Read Full Article on CBS News Website
28 Million Mail-In Ballots Went Missing in Last Four Elections
Between 2012 and 2018, 28.3 million mail-in ballots remain unaccounted for, according to data from the federal Election Assistance Commission. The missing ballots amount to nearly one in five of all absentee ballots and ballots mailed to voters residing in states that do elections exclusively by mail.
States and local authorities simply have no idea what happened to these ballots since they were mailed – and the figure of 28 million missing ballots is likely even higher because some areas in the country, notably Chicago, did not respond to the federal agency’s survey questions. This figure does not include ballots that were spoiled, undeliverable, or came back for any reason.
Although there is no evidence that the millions of missing ballots were used fraudulently, the Public Interest Legal Foundation, which compiled the public data provided from the Election Assistance Commission, says that the sheer volume of them raises serious doubts about election security.
Read Full Article on Real Clear Politics Website
Court Brief: Thousands of Dead, Duplicated CA Voter Registrants Could Get Mail Ballots
New Amicus Briefs Outline Widespread Flaws in ‘Active’ California Voter Roll
(SACRAMENTO, CA.) – June 24, 2020: The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF)’s amicus briefs filed in two federal lawsuits regarding California’s expanded use of mail ballots in 2020 were accepted by their respective courts this week.
The briefs outline flaws in the California voter registration roll with particular emphasis on deceased registrants and apparently duplicated registrants with overlapping voting histories.
On June 18, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a requirement that mail ballots be transmitted to all “active” registrants for use in the 2020 General Election in November. The Foundation’s briefs describe audit findings within the same “active” portion of California’s voter roll, demonstrating that widespread errors can be exacerbated even if only those registrants are getting auto-mailed ballots.
“California has a history of demonstrating that automation in voting processes will cause errors,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “Auto-mailings to active registrants won’t protect the state from sending ballots to dead and duplicated registrants—especially those who’ve shown an acknowledged willingness to take advantage of extra votes.”
California ‘Active’ Voter Roll Audit Quick Facts
— # of Dead Registrants: 23,000
— # of Registrants Who Apparently Voted in Two CA Counties in 2016: 280
— # of Registrants Who Apparently Voted Twice from Same Addresses in 2016, 2018: 1,525
— # of Registrants Duplicated Across State Lines with Apparent Voter Credits in 2018 Election: 2,000
California Mail Voting Problems 2012 – 2018
— # Mail Ballots Sent to Outdated Addresses: 836,500
— # Mail Ballots Listed as “Status Unknown”: 13,877,000
The briefs attach a letter to the California Secretary of State which outline the findings.
The Foundation ultimately sampled all active registrants, finding more than 23,000 listed as dead according to the Social Security Death Index and corresponding published obituaries.
The Foundation also studied and catalogued examples of single registrants who managed to become registered to vote multiple times in California and another state with apparently overlapping voter credits in 2018. The Foundation flagged a sample of 2,000 registration files for interstate duplicate concerns.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation is leading the nation in enforcing election integrity laws and the National Voter Registration Act, having brought cases in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maryland, Florida, Mississippi, and Maine and filed amicus briefs in litigation across the nation.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation devoted significant resources into developing real data tools that find problems with election administration and works cooperatively with officials to fix findings. PILF currently has active lawsuits in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maryland, and Maine and just recently settled a case in Houston, Texas.
The litigation continues in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. The case numbers are 2:20-cv-01044 and 2:20-cv-01055. The attorneys for the Public Interest Legal Foundation are John C. Eastman and Noel Johnson.
Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm dedicated to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American elections.
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Report: 28 Million Mail Ballots Went Missing in Past Decade
More Than 2 Million Ballots Also Sent to Wrong Addresses
(INDIANAPOLIS, IN.) – April 13, 2020: The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) today released a research brief detailing national figures for mail balloting failures, according to previous federal surveys.
Roughly 1 in 5 ballots never completed the mail voting process in the past decade.
“Putting the election in the hands of the United States Postal Service would be a catastrophe. Over the recent decade, there were 28 million missing and misdirected ballots,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “These represent 28 million opportunities for someone to cheat. Absentee ballot fraud is the most common; the most expensive to investigate; and can never be reversed after an election. The status quo was already bad for mail balloting. The proposed emergency fix is worse.”
PILF relied on U.S. Election Assistance Commission survey data to compile national figures regarding mail ballot errors. The federal surveys reflect the 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 General Elections.
The EAC defines “unknown” ballots as those that “were not returned by voter, spoiled, returned as undeliverable, or otherwise unable to be tracked by your office.”
Summary of Findings – 2012 thru 2018
Total Ballots Transmitted – 146,371,771
Number of Ballots Official Marked “Unknown” After Mailing – 28,359,530
Undeliverable Ballots – 2,147,987
Rejected Ballots upon Receipt – 1,275,924
Access the full research brief, here.
Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm dedicated to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American elections.
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