Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab is protecting the integrity of our elections and has rightly advised voters against mailing ballots. Instead, Schwab says voters should take ballots to a secure dropbox location or vote early in person.
The Election Transparency Initiative, a national grassroots public policy organization, which I lead, enlists thousands of Kansas-based activists and would like to salute Secretary Schwab for pinpointing a significant problem with the election system relating to mail ballots.
Schwab says sometimes ballots show up late when mailed.
“Often, people mail their ballot through the United States Postal Service — sometimes I just call the United States Postal and take off the ‘Service’ because they’re not doing much service right now, and they haven’t for a few years,” said Schwab. “When you mail that ballot, almost all of the ballots in Kansas leave the state.”
That’s right, at a time when a record number of Americans are worried about election security, almost all the ballots in Kansas leave the state before reaching their destination at tabulation centers. But Kansas isn’t alone. Officials in Nevada, Texas, Virginia and throughout the country have expressed concerns about mail-in voting.