On Tuesday, lawmakers passed a motion to expand absentee voting in South Carolina after Democrats called for weeks for Governor McMaster to address next month’s statewide primary. The motion would allow for any individual who wishes to avoid voting in-person due to the unprecedented spread of COVID-19 to qualify for absentee voting.
Previously, voters were required to qualify to vote absentee through one of the state’s seventeen confirmed excuses, none of which address the possibility of a pandemic. Now, any individual who wishes to absentee vote in June to protect their health and safety can apply under Reason 18: State of Emergency.
This action is a monumental achievement for the General Assembly and a great step forward in ensuring accessible and fair elections in South Carolina. However, it is only that: a single step. Now, South Carolina should seek to be a leader among states and work towards joining the exclusive group of those who vote entirely by mail.
The Case for Vote by Mail
Currently, only five states — Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, and Utah — hold elections that are conducted entirely through mail, but there is merit in this unique practice that should encourage South Carolina to make the switch.
First, mail-in voting can result in an increase in voter participation. In 2017, The Washington Post commissioned a study of the results from Colorado’s 2014 elections. What they found was that universal vote by mail – also known as vote at home – resulted in a 3.3 percent increase of overall voter turnout and an even more significant increase in the turnout of populations that are notoriously less likely to vote, such as young people.
Second, vote by mail has been found to be essentially fraud-free, per the Union of Concerned Scientists with UCLA and the University of New Mexico. Researchers found that an insignificant amount of ballots cast in elections conducted through vote by mail were believed to be fraudulent with an extremely minimal impact on election results. This may hold true, of course, simply because the United States is not the breeding ground for voter fraud that the GOP would have one believe. Regardless, vote by mail is a secure process and of which its implementation in South Carolina would not make the state any more likely to experience fraudulent elections than Republicans’ own gerrymandering already does.
Vote by mail similarly does not benefit Democrats as much as the Republican myth would like it to. In an analysis of election results from California, Utah, and Washington, researchers discovered that mail-in voting demonstrated a “truly negligible effect” on the turnout rates of each party when compared to the partisan turnout in areas without vote by mail.
Mail-in voting could also address the growing issue of poll worker and election machine shortages in South Carolina. Even before the state’s current pandemic, election officials were struggling to recruit poll workers due to a lack of pay, interest, and time, and voting machines were found to be outdated, malfunctioning, or insecure. Vote by mail could mitigate the recruitment efforts necessary to conduct statewide elections and ensure that South Carolina never again struggles with countless outdated machines.
Vote by mail is the necessary next step in preserving our democracy here in South Carolina. It’s more secure, safer, healthier, and more accessible than our current election procedures. A world where everyone is better able to vote is a world we should strive for. The General Assembly demonstrated that when it passed a provision expanding absentee voting during a state of emergency. What is a bigger emergency than the ever-growing disparity between those who vote and those who do not? South Carolina legislators must lead and pass vote by mail — anything less is a disgrace towards our democracy.