I'm sure there isn't a single state that didn't have some example of voter fraud, caught or not. Is it egregious enough to make it harder to vote eliminating 10's of thousands of voters? Absolutely not.
But you can't possibly know that, and that's the problem with it. The only check on it is the signature, and frankly that isn't a very reliable measure (both in favor and against verification). My signature doesn't always look the same. Young voters, very old voters, and voters whose first language reads backwards (at least for us) frequently don't have consistent signatures. And of course, if someone turns in a fraudulent ballot, there's virtually no way to track it to the wrongdoer.
Do I think that means there's enormous fraud? No, but it's probably not irrelevant either. Furthermore, you don't eliminate tens of thousands of voters by having in-person ballots (as the nation generally has had since the beginning with only a few exceptions). Those people still have a right to vote, and I don't mind increasing polling places or whatever it takes to enable them within reason. I don't mind making Election Day a national holiday and giving employment protections for people to be able to vote.
In full transparency, I didn't always vote in every election when I was younger and WA State like others had only in-person voting. Living in the City of Seattle and working 60+hrs a week, the flexibility and desire to stand in line for an hour or more to vote on a City Councilman wasn't present. With mail-in voting, I've never missed a single election.
Two things. First, we should have a uniform election date, and I mean a real one. Texas has two "uniform election dates," and that's BS. They don't know what "uni" means. Second, yes I know it can be a hassle to vote, but I don't think we're asking too much to expect people to go to that trouble once every two or four years if they care to have a say, especially if we make it a national holiday and give employment protections to people.
Additionally, the aspect I appreciate most about mail-in voting is never mentioned. I literally spend hours researching each Referendum and candidate online as I complete my ballot. Gone are the days where you are simply looking at a ****** voting pamphlet and statement trying to make a choice. Now I have he internet at my disposal to check out the candidates. Partisan sites, LinkedIn and yes even Facebook can offer insight into these lower level candidates.
I don't think this is as big of a factor as you assume. You can still look at those resources and vote in person. I did the same research when voting in person. I just made a list of the candidates I wanted to vote for.
Does every mail-in voter spend that much time? Not likely but I'd argue they are likely MORE informed than the typical voter sitting in a voting booth with only a pamphlet to guide them.
Respectfully, I just don't think that's true. I'm sure plenty of mail-in voters are informed, but do I think they're more informed in general and in-person voters? No. It just doesn't make a lot of sense that the group more motivated to show up would be less informed.
Mr. Deez, would you say that all extremists are "informed and motivated" simply because they vote? I'm on record as being against extremism. When we limit our voting to only the most motivated and often the most biased (read: least truth based) then we get the deeply politicized politics we see. We need MORE independents, MORE people that don't live and breath politics to vote because those are the people that are simply living their lives. They have the freshest eyes, unpolluted by partisan rhetoric. After witnessing the lies purveyed daily by last administration and it's supporter, why would you want to limit your elections to that element and their counterparts on the extreme left?
I think you assume that there's a parallel between extremism and voting. I'm not sure that's true. Look at the most extreme elements of the Trump base - the QAnon and alt-Right weirdos and their sympathizers. Look at the most extreme elements of the Democratic base - Antifa and BLM rioters and their sympathizers. Ten years ago, those people weren't your average loyal Republicans and Democrats. They were largely political non-participants.
I think the biggest reason you don't see a lot of moderate politicians elected anymore is that you don't see a lot of moderate people anymore. You might assume that the moderates are there but just not showing up. However, we elected far more moderates in the 1980s and 1990s than we do today, and voter turnout was actually lower back then. That was back when the GOP had a ton of moderates (like your old senator, Slade Gorton and Chris Shays) and even liberals (Lowell Weicker, Jim Jeffords). The Democrats had moderates (Bob Kerrey and Paul Tsongas) and pretty staunch conservatives (Billy Tauzin and Jim Exon).
How did guys like that win when turnout was lower and should have been driven by more extreme elements of their parties? It's because the electorate was more moderate and less polarized. We all think we know everything now, so nuance and moderation aren't valued anywhere near as much.
As an aside, I do agree with you Deez on straight ticket voting. That's an uniformed as any voter that votes once every 4 years.
Agree. I would even kick around the idea of not identifying party on the ballot at all. Parties nominate, but you vote for a person, not a party.
Can I throw in a bit to outlaw gerrymandering? For shits and giggles I looked at Jerry Nadler's and Jim Jordan's congressional districts. Just 2 examples of many that continue to drive the partisan rancor and extremism on both sides.
You can find much worse. John Sarbanes's district in Maryland is probably the worst in the country, and of course Texas and Pennsylvania have several bad ones (though probably none quite as bad as Sarbanes's). I detest gerrymandering and always have (long before it became a big political story), but I've never seen a way to really get rid of it that people would actually go along with. Nobody believes a nonpartisan commission would really be nonpartisan. Honestly, you'd probably get the fairest districts if a panel of federal judges drew them. They have the least interest.