Peoria wife on edge about mail-in ballot security, hubby gives her reassurance

Independent Newsmedia/Charlene Bisson

As Election Day Approaches

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OPINION — My wife and I were having a conversation about the upcoming election and she stated that she was afraid of mailing her ballot because of the administration’s bluster regarding the U.S. Postal Service and mail-in ballot handling. She was afraid that her vote would be lost or worse, so she wanted me to hand carry the ballot to a polling place.

Well, their campaign worked. They have sown that seed of doubt into at least one voter. Her thoughts are the result of the incessant far-right voices challenging the veracity of our elections.

Regardless of the millions of dollars and countless man-hours spent validating our 2020 election here in Maricopa County, there is a group in our Legislature that keeps beating that drum and pushing legislation to the voters in their attempt to curtail our constitutional rights, which have caused regular voters like my wife to question our voting system.

I reminded her of Sinclair Lewis’ 1935 novel, “It Can’t Happen Here,” and how it lays out many of the actions toward establishing an authoritarian government within our democracy (many are echoed within Project 2525 surprisingly not) and are being put into motion now.

But to quote Franklin D. Roosevelt: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

Turn on the light, look under the bed, see no monsters.

I told her go ahead, send in your ballot, track it through the system and see that it was counted. I believe the quality of our election systems, at least here in Maricopa County, will alleviate any of her concerns.

Then she asked that since the Constitution states specifically that the conduct of elections is the responsibility of the states, any interference by the federal government in our elections would be unconstitutional, right?

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