The Patriot Post® · Elections by Mail Are by No Means 'Safe'


On May 26, President Trump sent a series of tweets deriding the possibility of a “mail-in election,” an idea that has been endorsed by prominent Democrats as a “response” to coronavirus.


This dangerous idea to conduct an entire U.S. election by mail would eliminate the tradition of Americans voting in person at the polling station in the privacy of the voting booth. With nationwide mail-in voting, ballots would be distributed by state governments to every address at which an eligible voter is registered. Residents would then “mail in” their completed ballots by Election Day to be counted.

Leftist politicians and media talking heads have insisted that this is not only a “safe alternative” in the age of COVID-19 to in-person voting but that such a system would not be susceptible to fraud. This is by no means as safe and easy as they make it out to be.


In response to Trump’s tweets this past week, Twitter hit Number 45 with a novel “fact-check” label, which read, “Get the facts about mail-in ballots.” Twitter proceeded to link articles from The Washington Post and CNN, which downplayed Trump’s claims. These outlets argued that concerns regarding the integrity of a federal mail-in election are “unsubstantiated.”

Despite this outcry by Democrats and the media, President Trump is correct. Mass mail-in voting would jeopardize the sanctity of the 2020 election. The use of mail-in ballots on a national scale would surely encourage fraud and invite abuse of the voting system.

The ease with which vote tallies can be manipulated in such a scenario is not only deeply concerning but has the potential to alter the outcome of national elections. According to ProPublica, a 2005 bipartisan commission led by former president Jimmy Carter and then-Secretary of State James A. Baker III found that mail-in ballots remain “the largest source of potential voter fraud.”

There are countless examples documenting the susceptibility of a mail-in system to fraud and abuse. The Texas Tribune reported in 2017 that a controversy surrounding city-council races in Dallas ignited a legal firestorm after more than 700 ballots were sequestered following a review by the county’s district attorney. This came after complaints from residents that they received an excessive number of mail-in ballots. A man was arrested for unlawfully filling out and turning in a blank ballot he was not issued.


Another avenue for fraud associated with a mail-in election is “ballot harvesting,” a popular practice in Democratic strongholds such as Orange County, California, during the 2018 elections. The Wall Street Journal points out that 27 states have laws in place that permit voters to designate an individual to return their ballot.


Although such a policy may appear reasonable at first glance, there are often no restrictions on who these “returners” are. According to the Orange County registrar, it was not uncommon to see one individual drop off 100 to 200 ballots. Can we be certain that all such returners would act fairly and in good faith under nationwide voting by mail? In May of 2020, a Pennsylvania mail carrier faced federal charges of election fraud for doing just the opposite.

President Trump, conservatives, and all those who advocate for fairness in our elections must continue to demand that a mail-in election not take place in November. Giving in to the power-hungry Democrats on this issue will assuredly compromise the integrity of the 2020 elections. Those who stand opposed to this leftist lunacy must continue to speak out against it and call it what it is: A power grab by the Democratic Party.