David Smith

Let’s talk about the US mail. I wrote a thank you note in late June. Yes. An honest-to-God, handwritten thank you note. Put a stamp on it, put it in the mailbox, put up the little red flag. Next day, little red flag is down, mailbox is empty. I live in North Carolina, the addressee is in Washington, DC. On Aug 27, I received the following text from the person to whom the thank you note was addressed: “I just got an envelope addressed to me from you, postmarked June 23, but the envelope was opened and nothing was in it. Do you recall what was in it?” I said “a thank you note to you for….” I asked if she could send a photo of the envelope. Yup. That is the envelope with my return address…. Addressed to my friend. It took 9 weeks plus two days for a simple first class piece of mail to arrive at its destination from NC to the District of Columbia, and it was missing the contents. Then today, I saw an email chain on the NextDoor app, which I occasionally peruse. What got my attention was that the starting post was from someone who lives nearby who had paid some bills by writing checks, putting them into the envelope with stamps, placing the envelopes in his mailbox, and subsequently learning that the mail had been stolen, the checks cleared his bank account the next day from a location a few towns away. Bad stuff. But the response from all the replies was totally unsympathetic. All the replies were that “you cannot possibly put a check in the mailbox and be surprised that it is then stolen or mis-delivered”. With all the accompanying stories of similar bad experiences. And yet, we are all supposed to suspend our brains when the subject turns to voting by mail. @realDonaldTrump is somehow a dictator for trying to make sure that ballots sent / returned by mail are tracked, that the addresses are accurate, the voters are citizens … and the Democrats and some puke GOP Secretaries of State howl about how trying to secure this absurdly insecure system is a terrible, awful thing. Couple of thoughts: We MUST reduce the quantity of voting by mail by reestablishing true “absentee” voting. The only people who should be allowed to vote by mail are those who cannot get to the polls to vote in person. That would significantly increase the possibility that the ballots cast by mail might be authentic and timely. The reduction in volume might help with oversight of the process. I emphasize “might”. But here’s the real question: If you won the lottery….would you put your winning lottery ticket in an envelope, put a stamp on it and put it in the US mail? I didn’t think so. Neither would I. And my ballot, my vote, is easily as valuable as a lottery ticket. Join the Election Integrity Network - @EIwatchdogs - and help us restore voting in person, in precincts, and make Election Day great again. Stop the ridiculous reliance and march toward universal vote by mail - a recipe for corrupt elections. This year, Vote In Person, the first day of early voting. VIP1. #MakeElectionsBelievableAgain