The Independent View: MI's Rejection of Ballots from Dead Voters is Example of System Working

As the President continues his Efforts to Discredit Voting-by-Mail, he and his Allies have pointed to several so-called Examples of Voter Fraud. The latest: More than 800 Ballots that were Received by Mail from "dead voters" in Michigan's recent Primary.

On Twitter, Saturday August 15th, Donald Trump Jr. shared a tweet about a Breitbart article. The Framing of the article and the tweet Insinuated that Hundreds of Ballots were Not Legitimately Cast and perpetuated the President's Claim that Voting-by-Mail is rife with Fraud.

What happened in Michigan, was Not Voter Fraud, but an Example of the System Working the way it's Supposed to. Michigan's Voter Verification Processes identifies Ballots from Individuals who had Died after Submitting their Ballot. Election Officials did Not Count these Ballots, in line with the State's Policies.

A Press Release from Michigan's Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, noted that the 846 Ballots Rejected from Deceased Voters "[r]efers to voters who died after casting their absentee ballot but before Election Day."

This is Not unusual for Michigan. Tracy Wimmer, a Spokeswoman for the Secretary of State said that in 2016, when more than 1,780 Ballots sent by Mail were Rejected because the Voters who Submitted them had since Died.

In addition to the Hundreds of Ballots submitted by Someone who later Passed away, Thousands of Absentee Ballots were Invalidated because of Signature Problems or Late Arrival.

Benson is Advocating for Legislative Changes to Address those Issues in the General Election.

For instance, she Supports requiring Clerks to Contact any Voter whose Signature on the Ballot does Not Match existing Records. The Voter would then have the Opportunity to Verify their Signature-in-Person.

Benson is also in Favor of Legislation that would Allow Election Officials to Count Mail-in-Ballots up to Two Days after Election Day if they were Postmarked by Election Day, a Practice Members of the Trump Campaign have taken Issue with but is Common in several other States.

The Spin of what happened in Michigan, from Trump Jr. and others, is another Example in the Long Line of False and Misleading Claims over Mail-in-Voting. Most Absentee Voting Fraud is conducted by Candidates, their Campaigns, and Election Workers.

This Narrative of Widespread Voter Fraud in Voting-by-Mail, heralded by the President, includes Patently Phony Claims that Undocumented Immigrants are sent Ballots, that Absentee and Mail-in-Voting are substantially Different, that Foreign Countries can easily Interfere with the Process, and much more.

In One instant, I agree with Trump. Those States that aren't Mail Only States, should send Voters Mail-In-Ballot Requests, Not the Ballot. Then use the Undeliverable Request to Clean their Voter Rolls before sending Voters their Ballot. I also would Allow States to Count the Mail-in-Ballots, as they arrive, but Not report their Totals, until after the Day of the Election.