Letter to the Editor: No chance to fix ballots mailed in

Today,  I had a Letter to the Editor published in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/04/28/editorial/letters/letter-no-chance-to-fix-ballots-mailed-in/ 

I do not support all-mail voting. As someone who has worked as an elections precinct official, usually stationed near the machine where voters submit their ballots, there are always voters whose ballots weren’t accepted because they didn’t understand how to fill in their ballots properly. This is especially true for primary elections, but it also happens in general elections.

Had those voters submitted their ballots by mail, their votes wouldn’t have counted. At least at the voting precincts, the machine could catch their errors and we could give those voters another chance to fill in their ballots properly.

Let’s continue to have walk-in voting locations in every district so that voters who need help from a person can get that help.

I mentioned about voters having difficulty with election procedures (especially in the Primary Election) with a blog post from August 2018! 

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2018/08/hawaii-primary-elections-need-to-change.html

So some of the first time voters get confused by the format!

Technically, the people giving the ballots to the voters are supposed to explain what they're supposed to do (vote within one party), but even then, that confuses some voters.

I was the person who directs the voters who have finished voting to put their ballots into the E-scan machine. If the ballots aren't filled out properly, the E-scan machine spits the ballot back out, and I have to re-explain the format the voters are required to follow for the Primary Elections. Some of those voters require multiple explanations.

Some might make snide remarks about such voters!

But you know what?

It's unrealistic to expect all voters to be political geniuses! Even those who may or may not have learning disabilities have a right to vote!

  
It's important that people have a voice and be engaged with the political process. We need to do everything we can to help the process. 

For some voters, voting by mail works best.

For other voters, going to the precinct on Election Day works best.

Let's keep that option open!