All absentee ballots should include a postal tracking number like priority mail.
The Issue
On April 7th, many Wisconsin citizens were forced to choose between risking their health during the height of a global pandemic and exercising their right to vote.
Legislators urged citizens to request and complete an absentee ballot. However, numerous complaints emerged about people waiting weeks for their ballot to arrive, some calling and having new ballots sent out, with many never getting there in time or arriving after the election deadline.
There have been numerous articles about ballots that were never delivered by the Post Office.
https://pbswisconsin.org/news-item/fox-point-absentee-ballots-not-sent-to-voters/
With something as critical as absentee ballots - especially in times of public health crisis like these where forcing people to go to the polls could put their health or family in jeopardy - there NEEDS to be a mechanism to track the ballot from origination through delivery, just as we do with packages and priority mail.
The MyVote.Wi.Gov already offers one mechanism to track an absentee ballot request, but once it leaves the clerk’s office, it then goes into a void until delivery. Since the technology is already widely available and used, using individual tracking numbers would ensure accountability and prevent misplacement and mishandling of ballots throughout the logistics chain. While it may cost more to send absentee ballots this way, it would ensure the integrity of the election process throughout the logistics chain, and it would certainly cost less than the extremely expensive and time-consuming court battles that arise from breakdowns in the election process.
Let’s learn from this unjust experience and improve the process so we don’t find ourselves in this situation again. Absentee ballots should include tracking numbers for transparency, integrity, and fair elections.
We fought hard for the right to vote, and no person, party, or institution - through honest mistakes or deliberate obstruction - should be able to take away that right.
The Issue
On April 7th, many Wisconsin citizens were forced to choose between risking their health during the height of a global pandemic and exercising their right to vote.
Legislators urged citizens to request and complete an absentee ballot. However, numerous complaints emerged about people waiting weeks for their ballot to arrive, some calling and having new ballots sent out, with many never getting there in time or arriving after the election deadline.
There have been numerous articles about ballots that were never delivered by the Post Office.
https://pbswisconsin.org/news-item/fox-point-absentee-ballots-not-sent-to-voters/
With something as critical as absentee ballots - especially in times of public health crisis like these where forcing people to go to the polls could put their health or family in jeopardy - there NEEDS to be a mechanism to track the ballot from origination through delivery, just as we do with packages and priority mail.
The MyVote.Wi.Gov already offers one mechanism to track an absentee ballot request, but once it leaves the clerk’s office, it then goes into a void until delivery. Since the technology is already widely available and used, using individual tracking numbers would ensure accountability and prevent misplacement and mishandling of ballots throughout the logistics chain. While it may cost more to send absentee ballots this way, it would ensure the integrity of the election process throughout the logistics chain, and it would certainly cost less than the extremely expensive and time-consuming court battles that arise from breakdowns in the election process.
Let’s learn from this unjust experience and improve the process so we don’t find ourselves in this situation again. Absentee ballots should include tracking numbers for transparency, integrity, and fair elections.
We fought hard for the right to vote, and no person, party, or institution - through honest mistakes or deliberate obstruction - should be able to take away that right.
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Petition created on April 9, 2020