“There is a real significant risk to the integrity of the election if we don’t invest now in our election infrastructure.”
WASHINGTON — The House passed sweeping legislation Friday that gives states $3.6 billion to boost election infrastructure and allow every American to vote by mail as the coronavirus pandemic continues to claim lives with no end in sight.
But the Democratic-led HEROES Act is going nowhere in the Republican-controlled Senate and faces a veto threat from President Donald Trump, who has lashed out at the election provisions. Congress passed $400 million in March for states to boost their election systems, but the prospects of more funding are unclear.
Election experts warn that states are dangerously under-equipped to handle the likely surge of mail-in voting in the Nov. 3 presidential contest and facilitate in-person voting in a hazardous environment. Without more assistance, some experts say the U.S. is hurtling toward a potential disaster that could bring about a delayed or disputed election result.
‘Policymakers must act now’
Weil said states need to set up clear rules for voters on how mail-in ballots can be counted and the resources to process them. He said it will be a challenge to print huge numbers of ballots and obtain the necessary envelopes and postage. They’ll also have to purchase the high-speed scanners needed to process them efficiently in a market where demand will probably exceed supply.
While there’s likely to be in-person voting, the election will also face new hurdles. Apart from the challenges of social distancing, who will man the polls? Election workers are not easy to find in ordinary times. Where will voting be held? Schools and churches may not want thousands of people coming in and out of their facilities during a deadly pandemic.
A Bipartisan Policy Center report co-authored by Weil and released this week estimated that more than half of all ballots cast in the presidential election will be mailed in. By contrast, 5.9 percent of votes were cast by mail in 2016, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. The BPC report recommended that states reduce requirements and hurdles for voters to obtain and cast a mail-in ballot, as well as streamline processes for verifying signatures and counting them.