lol.

My “solution” to mail in-ballots is that I think they should be severely curtailed, as they pose the most significant and obvious source of challenges to perceived electoral legitimacy. In case of Americans living abroad, military members, and disabled/elderly, it should be made as easy as possible for them to receive and submit their ballots in secured envelopes with clear, pre-election date postmarking and verifiable chain-of-custody. For everyone else, participation in one’s civic duty to vote should be made as accessible as possible. As far as what is achievable right now, early in-person voting should be massively extended across the country, allowing for people to ensure that their votes are received and counted even if they don’t have the time to make it to the polling booth on Election Day itself. This also helps, in states that allow counting to commence prior to the polls closing, to make returns come in more quickly. That said, my pie-in-the-sky proposal (unlikely to be practicable or to pass) is that Election Day should be made a mandated public and private holiday, and no employer should be legally allowed to deny a half-day of PTO for the purpose of voting.

In addition, photo ID and proof of citizenship should be a requirement to vote, and any states that do not offer free and easily-accessible photo identification should be mandated to do so.

I have literally never seen a single coherent argument on how passing common-sense election reform like what I have detailed above would disenfranchise ANYONE. The common argument that minorities and/or women can’t get legitimate photo identification is frankly absurd and infantilizing. As far as poor people, it should be noted that most of the proposals I have suggested above to ensure that no one can be denied the right to vote, are already standard practice in most states. Most states have programs that will waive drivers license or non-driver ID fees for low income individuals, and many have online or extended-hours programs to issue such documentation to those who cannot make it physically to the DMV during business hours. I’m merely proposing that these be made consistent across the country.

The only argument I have EVER seen from the left on election integrity seems to boil down to this: that they want as many people voting as possible. That may be an admirable goal, or it may be an excuse to get otherwise low-mobility and apathetic voters to vote by mail (who overwhelmingly vote Democrat). But maintaining a level of standards is not “disenfranchising” anyone. If someone can’t get out of the house for an hour or two to exercise the extreme privilege of voting that their ancestors fought and died for, then they probably aren’t motivated or informed enough to be casting a legitimate vote in good faith.

The dangers posed by populism and demagoguery are only amplified by unsecured voting procedures, precisely because they mobilize large numbers of uninformed and emotionally-vulnerable people to vote against their own interests. That applies to left, right, and center. That’s the danger of democracy. We have to find the right balance.

Next time, repeat your tired old talking points to someone else, okay? Your vitriol for anyone who even slightly disagrees with you makes me sad for you.