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In today's Saturday Living section, our resident historian, Mark DeVecchis, turns his monthly space over to conservative economist and political commentator John Lott, an adaptation of a Lott speech discussing the history of absentee voting in the U.S. and elsewhere, and the findings of the 2005 Commission on Federal Election Reform, a bipartisan panel chaired by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker.
The historical part notes voting by absentee -- especially for those who are able to go to the polls -- is the exception rather than the rule in several countries.
The commission's findings included a recommendation for a voter ID requirement, which now has become a hotly contested issue. (Not surprisingly, toeing the party line, Carter has disavowed that finding as Democrats in Congress continue trying -- thus far unsuccessfully -- to railroad through a bill that would ban voter ID laws.)
Lott's writing, which I largely agree with, doesn't address fully the need for absentee voting to exist. This is not the same as "vote by mail" or other means of casting ballots that allowed many more voters -- legitimate voters -- to take part in elections during the COVID-19 pandemic, action that was identified by the commission as potential for fraud.
Thus far, there is no proof that such fraud occurs on a mass scale -- nor that any fraud detected in voting has changed the outcome of any elections (including the 2020 presidential election, despite the claims of former President Donald Trump and his supporters). But the simple fact is that fraud could occur. And just as we take steps to prevent other crimes from taking place, it is sensible to ensure the integrity of the election process.
So why do I support absentee voting? Me.
That's right, I've voted by absentee ballot. In fact, if not for absentee ballots, I would have been denied the opportunity to vote in most elections that occurred between the 1981 primary and the 1986 general elections.
Why? Because, during that time, I was serving in the military. And it was unlikely that I would have been at home to visit my local polling place.
Here's the rub: The requirements for me to vote from a U.S. Navy ship were more stringent that the requirements some states put in place to vote in person now.
When you serve in the military, if you establish residence in the place you are stationed -- for example, by purchasing a home -- that is where you vote. But, my address was the ship (or other facility) where I was stationed. So my address of record -- which is where I voted -- was my family home in Selinsgrove.
(Before you ask, yes, I did keep abreast of issues in Central Pennsylvania -- I was not voting without awareness of who I was voting for, and why.)
Before I could vote by absentee, I had to prove I was me, by providing my military identification card to a witness. I had to show ID even if the witness was my division officer, with whom I communicated personally almost every day. He would then sign the ballot attesting to the fact that I had voted without coercion and that the ballot was cast by the correct voter.
I also had to ask for the ballot -- none of this questionable behavior in which highly partisan organizations shoved ballots at me, clearly attempting to steer me to vote their way.
I'm not against vote by mail, although I think it should be based on need, limited to those who ask for a ballot and are provided one only by a county election office. I expect, for example, that my 82-year-old mother, who may be too frail to go to a polling place but certainly knows who she wants in office -- will vote that way as long as she is allowed.
But, I'd prefer that there was a system of proof similar to that I had to go through -- and they should darned well check her signature against her registration.
We need alternatives so that legitimate voters who cannot cast a ballot in person may take part in elections. But we also need to ensure that confidence in -- and integrity of -- our election system is maintained. Voter ID does just that.
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Jeff Fishbein is lifestyles editor of The Sentinel.