Gov. Chris Sununu has now assured us that New Hampshire will have absentee balloting available for the September primary and November general election for any voters who “feel more comfortable” mailing in their ballots, and recently the attorney general and secretary of state released a memorandum to that effect. This will allow voters to cast their ballots without having to stand in line in crowded polling places.
In this time of pandemic, it is essential that we protect our right to vote, so the governor’s announcement is excellent news as far as it goes. However, significant financial, logistical and personnel challenges lie ahead. They can all be met in time for the upcoming elections, but only if comprehensive planning begins now.
There are specific steps beyond absentee voting that need to be taken at the state level to make sure citizens can exercise their right to vote without jeopardizing their health. For instance, a process must be created to allow qualified persons to register to vote without having to go in person to a city/town clerk’s office or the polling place. Secure online registration has been used successfully in many states and could be used in New Hampshire for the 2020 elections.
In addition, local election officials worry about the burden of meeting a deluge of requests for absentee ballots. A plan must be put in place to ensure that no New Hampshire voter finds that Election Day has arrived and they still haven’t received the absentee ballot they requested, as happened to thousands of voters in Wisconsin earlier this month. A statewide absentee ballot application website would be one way to streamline the process.
On Election Day, how will all those absentee ballots be opened and counted by poll workers (currently a very cumbersome process)?
Because some voters will still choose to appear in person, plans must be made to protect the safety of both voters and poll workers. Allowing early voting would spread out the crowd over a number of days, which would help ensure adequate social distancing. It’s possible that personal protective equipment will be advisable for poll workers, and we’ve learned all too well that if we want masks, gloves and disinfectants we better start looking for them now. Additional staffing will be necessary if early voting is implemented, and in any case we need to prepare for the likelihood that many of the people who currently serve as poll workers will not be willing to do so in 2020 because they fall in the “vulnerable” category.
Finally, and crucially, a comprehensive education campaign will be necessary to ensure that voters and people who want to register to vote, as well as local election officials, understand the new procedures and protections. The secretary of state should consult with communications experts right away, in order to put in place an effective education campaign that begins well in advance of the September primary and continues through the November general election. Moreover, specific language from the guidance recently released by the secretary of state and AG should be added to the absentee ballots themselves, clarifying that voters are allowed to use that ballot if they are concerned about exposing themselves or others to COVID-19 by voting in person.
Taking these steps to protect our elections will cost money. Therefore, we urge Secretary of State Bill Gardner to work with the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee to accept the $3.2 million federal Election Grant (CARES Act) that has been allocated to New Hampshire to protect our elections from the threat of COVID-19.
New Hampshire has a proud tradition of high voter turnout in our elections, and we have a right to be proud: citizen participation through their right to vote is a cornerstone of our democracy. In this time of pandemic we need to do all we can to ensure that participation is protected in September and November. And we need to start planning now.
(Sam Osherson lives in Nelson. Mary Wilke lives in Concord.)