The rules around mail-in voting are the same as in 2024, but voters are still wondering whether their mail-in votes will count.
In a new report by Politico, Democrats and voting rights groups are worried that confusion around mail-in voting may affect overall turnout.
While many voters embraced mail-in voting during the pandemic, President Trump’s constant attacks, executive orders, and fights in the courts over mail-in ballots have sowed seeds of doubt.
The polling is pretty damning, revealing the true affect.
According to a recent NBC poll, only 23% of registered Democratic voters plan to vote by mail during the midterms. This is a 11% drop from September 2024. Instead, more than a third of registered Dems plan on voting early in person, which is up by 30%. Another 36% said they will likely vote on Election Day.
Despite this, according to a recent Marist poll, Democrats are still more likely than Republicans to vote either absentee or via mail, with Dems at 32% compared to Republican voters at 12%.
Marist also found that registered voters are more distrustful of the US Postal Service’s ability to deliver ballots to both voters and election officials in a timely manner, going from 71% confidence in USPS in 2024 to 58% of voters having that same confidence today.
Just as so many voting rights proponents feared, the barrage of attacks from the Trump Administration over the safety of our elections has poisoned some citizens against the process. Trump has accused mail-in voting of being unsafe and ripe for fraud, claims that are all unfounded. Yet, the damage has already been done.
Voters are more confused than ever.
“We know that the president has spent six months talking about changing the rules regarding mail-in voting, and a lot of folks are concerned about their ballot being secure,” said Quentin James, founder and president of the Collective PAC to Politico.
And Trump wants voters confused (never mind that Trump himself uses mail-in voting to cast his ballot).
He wants to disincentivize voters from going to the polls because the lower the turnout, the better chances Republicans have of holding on to power. For him, the confusion is necessary when you consider that the only thing lower than his presidential approval rating is the current rating of the Republican-controlled Congress.
Only 16% of the public approve of Congress’ actions (or inactions).
Not a great sign for the party in power.
In fact, rather than deal with the myriad problems our country faces, the Senate went home on Wednesday, choosing to adjourn until after the midterms.
Still, with threats from DHS that ICE might be at the polls, the atmosphere is thick with fear and misinformation.
Will our polling places be safe?
The facts are these: almost none of Trump’s proposed changes to how we vote have gone into effect or gotten the green light from the courts. Also, voting is still a state issue in most respects, not a federal one. So much of his blustering about voting integrity is just that—all bluster.
“The executive branch, the federal government, the President, and the various agencies announced attempted changes, and almost all of them of any substance for voters have not come into effect,” said Aaron Blacksberg of the Institute for Responsive Government to a reporter with Gray DC, later adding that voters should learn what the election procedures are in their area before voting.
“Know the rules, go vote,” Blacksberg added.
The ACLU also made this clear: “The president has no authority to rewrite our election rules — that power belongs to the states and Congress alone,” the historic civil liberties group said on its website. “No declaration of emergency and no assertion of executive power gives any president license to ignore the Constitution, interfere with elections, or undermine the rights of voters. The presidency has limits. President Trump cannot cancel elections. His threats to do so are an attempt to suppress turnout by confusing and distracting voters. We can’t let the empty threats of the Trump administration and its allies distract us.”
And despite all of Trump’s attacks on USPS, the mail service is gearing up to protect voters’ ballots this Fall.
Reuters reported on a recent memo that detailed how USPS retail branches might “extend hours starting Oct. 4 through the Nov. 3 election to handle ballots and establish a ‘Ballot Postmark Only’ line at retail counters or a drive-through Ballot Mail option. USPS also will conduct expedited handling, extra deliveries, and special pickups of ballots.”
This election is happening no matter what the president says, so check your registration, get your mail-in or absentee ballot, find your polling place, and get ready to exercise your Constitutional right to vote.
Our Democracy clearly depends on it.
