by Dana Cox
Some voters worried their mail-in ballots would arrive in time to be counted in Election 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way some citizens voted this year., there have been some changes to the way people are voting this year. More people chose to receive an early ballot and either mailed them in or dropped them off at designated locations.
“This year we have mailed out a total of 166,725 ballots. Out of those mailed out, 152,056 ballots have been returned via drop box or mailed in by the postal service,” said Valerie Stoj, public relations coordinator for the Douglas County Election Commission Office. “About 85% of those returned ballots have been returned using the drop boxes.”
Douglas County voter Maddie Uryasz said she chose to use the drop-box method instead of mailing in her ballot.
“I was extremely nervous this election that something would go wrong with the mail in option for ballots, so I opted to drop mine in a drop box,” Uryasz said. “I was not worried about dropping mine off. I had no fears because I knew that I would be able to track my ballot online and I dropped it off early enough that it should have been counted, which it was.”
Mailing in your ballot also requires you to send it in early because if not sent in early, your vote may not make it to the election office based on how long it takes to get there.
Some voters feared their mail-in ballots could be tampered with. A mail carrier in West Virginia pled guilty to mail and election fraud by changing political affiliations on several ballots, according to an article on USA Today.
“That is a really scary thought that there are people out there willing to go to those measures to tamper with someone’s ballot,” Uryasz said. “The Electoral College to me is messy enough as it is, let alone there being tampering concerns.”
To avoid issues with your ballot in future elections::
- Take your ballot directly to a drop box designated to your area of residency
- Take your ballot directly to the Douglas County Commissioner’s Office
- Track your ballot, it using the information on your specific ballot to ensure it gets to its final destination.
