Mail-in elections?
April 15, 2020
Barry County Courthouse in Cassville.
Sheila Harris
With COVID-19 concerns, many residents are wondering how elections will be accomplished if restrictions on public gatherings are still in place. On a national level, some officials are in favor of transitioning to elections conducted solely by mail. However, such a change would necessitate that a ballot be mailed out to every eligible voter: a costly and time-consuming process.
Barry County Clerk, Jill LeCompte, said she’s prepared to follow through with whatever instructions are passed down to her through the Missouri’s Secretary of State’s office.
“At this time,” she said, “there’s been no indication that we’ll shift to a mail-in election, but our office is certainly wondering about it.”
Because LeCompte’s primary concern is for the safety of voters, her staff, and election volunteers, she thinks a mail-in election might be a good option.
“However,”said LeCompte, “if we’re going to have a mail-in election, I’ll need to know, like… today.”
“With a staff of only three,” she continued, “we’ll really have to hurry to prepare for the June 2 municipal election if we end up having to do it by mail. It will require that two envelopes, plus voting instructions, be mailed to every registered voter in the county. It not only takes a lot of time, but it’s costly. It would definitely affect our budget. Right now, with absentee ballots – which are just a small percentage of our voters – we pay $1.40 for each packet mailed out. Multiply that amount times 20,000, the number of registered voters in Barry County. It would make the cost of a mail-in election at least $28,000."
“Then, too,” she added, “the voter registration and information portal controlled by the Secretary of State’s office would need to be updated to reflect changes in the election process. There are several things that would need to be done to get ready, and they all take time.”
“Still,” LeCompte said, “I’m fine with switching to a mail-in election if that’s what we need to do.”
While questions are sometimes raised about the possibility of voter fraud with a mail-in election, LeCompte doesn’t believe it would be a concern in Barry County.
"I take voter fraud seriously, of course, but several states have long had mail-in elections with no problem. This type of election would be new to me, and to voters in Barry County, but they're not uncommon in other areas of the country. I'll do whatever the state orders. I just hope they let us know soon."
With COVID-19 concerns, many residents are wondering how elections will be accomplished if restrictions on public gatherings are still in place. On a national level, some officials are in favor of transitioning to elections conducted solely by mail. However, such a change would necessitate that a ballot be mailed out to every eligible voter: a costly and time-consuming process.
Barry County Clerk, Jill LeCompte, said she’s prepared to follow through with whatever instructions are passed down to her through the Missouri’s Secretary of State’s office.
“At this time,” she said, “there’s been no indication that we’ll shift to a mail-in election, but our office is certainly wondering about it.”
Because LeCompte’s primary concern is for the safety of voters, her staff, and election volunteers, she thinks a mail-in election might be a good option.
“However,”said LeCompte, “if we’re going to have a mail-in election, I’ll need to know, like… today.”
“With a staff of only three,” she continued, “we’ll really have to hurry to prepare for the June 2 municipal election if we end up having to do it by mail. It will require that two envelopes, plus voting instructions, be mailed to every registered voter in the county. It not only takes a lot of time, but it’s costly. It would definitely affect our budget. Right now, with absentee ballots – which are just a small percentage of our voters – we pay $1.40 for each packet mailed out. Multiply that amount times 20,000, the number of registered voters in Barry County. It would make the cost of a mail-in election at least $28,000."
“Then, too,” she added, “the voter registration and information portal controlled by the Secretary of State’s office would need to be updated to reflect changes in the election process. There are several things that would need to be done to get ready, and they all take time.”
“Still,” LeCompte said, “I’m fine with switching to a mail-in election if that’s what we need to do.”
While questions are sometimes raised about the possibility of voter fraud with a mail-in election, LeCompte doesn’t believe it would be a concern in Barry County.
"I take voter fraud seriously, of course, but several states have long had mail-in elections with no problem. This type of election would be new to me, and to voters in Barry County, but they're not uncommon in other areas of the country. I'll do whatever the state orders. I just hope they let us know soon."
