As Election Day draws closer, despite what you might have heard or will hear in the future on YouTube or Instagram, not only can Donald Trump not unilaterally delay the next presidential election, even if he somehow managed to delay it pass January 20th, he still would no longer be president. As much more qualified people than I have explained, in such a scenario, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont would more than likely be the temporary POTUS. But in the wake of the coronavirus spawning a life in which I have to wear a mask and glove to go outside and be ready to spray someone with Lysol if they break the six feet recommendation, it’s easy to understand why such fears exist.
It’s also understandable if you forgot that there is a Democratic presidential primary much less an election going on altogether.
Joe Biden has indeed bypassed front-runner status and has cemented himself as the presumptive nominee. Unfortunately, presumptive is not definitive, and as states continue to postpone elections in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s looking less and less likely that the matter will be settled by the time of the convention that I doubt happens in any manner reflective of previous conventions.
This would be a great opportunity for Biden to step outside and advocate that we put measures in place to make it easier for us all to vote in the time of crisis. I know y’all told him to tip into DJ D-Nice’s IG Live party, so tag him over on this end.
Others have started to push for settling the matter by pushing for nationwide voting by mail in the meantime.
Ellen Weintraub, one of three current members of the Federal Election Commission and its former chairwoman, urged voting by mail, calling it a “necessary and urgent” step in the face of the pandemic. The day before, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs wrote a letter to state lawmakers asking them to authorize all-mail elections for August, when the state holds a local primary, and for the general election in November. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the states of Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and Utah are the only five to conduct elections entirely by mail already.
Some have pushed back against such calls for nationwide voting by mail, arguing it would be a logistical nightmare, would require states to amend laws, would require the purchase of equipment and software to read ballots and signatures, and a bunch of questions that are reasonable but do not in any way convince me that voting by mail isn’t what we should all be advocating for. And flatly, let the federal government throw money at the problem and treat it like a corporation, the Republican Party’s favorite kind of person. And isn’t our voting system across the 50 states and D.C. not in the best shape as a whole? Why not reimagine it and modernize it at a time we need it most.
In a recent poll of 2057 Americans, conducted March 18-19, Data For Progress found that a measure to automatically register and enroll all eligible voters in optional vote-by-mail was favored by a 55-25 margin. Like Charlotte Swasey writing at Crooked Media, I believe “Congress should include a nationwide vote-by-mail requirement in the legislation it is working on right now to help the country weather coronavirus.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi now appears to be embracing such calls.
I don’t want anyone coughing on me, you don’t want anyone coughing on you. Neither of us want Donald Trump around anymore if we have souls. Speaking of Trump, Senator Ron Wyden said, “Even Donald Trump will be voting by mail in this election. If it’s good enough for Trump, it ought to be enough for Mitch McConnell, and he should support our bill.”
I’ve said much of this lightheartedly, but in all seriousness: the more I watch those daily press conferences, the more I fear that so many people that don’t need to die will die. Trump’s sociopathic way of looking at a medical crisis as more of a PR problem will doom us all and lead to more fear and panic. We need as much stability as possible. And we need to rid ourselves of him.
I have voted early. I have voted on election day. I have voted by mail. Voting by mail is the best thing ever. It also has fewer germs. Democrats, don’t be suckers about this and get it done as that maniac sets up more to die.