A number of delegates have asked me if I would support an "end to vote-by-mail and a return to in-person voting on paper ballots and a hand count."
I understand the worries and concerns that people have about our election system. Voters need confidence that their vote is secure, their vote is accurately counted, and that other votes are also legally cast.
Out of this worry there is a desire of many to "return to the good old days" and "do things the way they have always been done." Like most bits of nostalgia, the past is usually not as great as we remember it. We tend to focus on the thing that were good, and not the things that were bad. It is also worth noting that many of todays problems are the result of yesterday's solutions. Let's take a deep dive into this proposal:
The return to paper ballots actually began with vote-by-mail. It was with the implementation of vote-by-mail that Utah County returned to an entirely paper-based voting system. Even the few people who currently use electronic devices for voting have their selections printed on paper and counted and stored with the rest of ballots. Prior to vote-by-mail Utah County used touch-screens that also tabulated votes. Prior to that, they used punch-cards with hanging chads. Our current paper ballots provide a record of votes that cannot be hacked, that can be verified with audits, and which are available if it is determined that any race requires a hand re-count.
Hand-counts have not been used in Utah for decades. Prior to vote-by-mail, most Utahns voted on a touch screen that not only marked ballots, but tabulated them on site. Most of the recent concern about "machines switching votes" or "machines that are easy to hack" centered on these voting kiosks - not necessarily the scanning tabulation machines. Prior to touch-screens, Utahns voted with punch cards. This required every precinct to have their own uniquely printed ballot into which the punch card was slid, then the voter would use a stylus to poke out the "chad" corresponding to their vote. These punch cards could then be run through a simple "computer" at each precinct to tally the vote. These types of ballots became infamous in the 2000 presidential election. They were probably first used around the 1970s or 1980. The type of voting to which people want to return hasn't been used in over 40 or 50 years.
Machines are more accurate than humans. Given issues with cyber-security and rumors of nefarious hackers some have asked for a manual hand-count of ballots. In every audit where we have tested the accuracy of our tabulation machines, there has been absolutely no evidence of tampering. If there are slight discrepancies, further review shows the errors to have been in human tally-marks, not the machines. Having volunteers hand-count ballots with multiple races into the early hours of the morning after working a 13 hour shift is a recipe for disaster.
Centralized tabulation has more safeguards than precinct tabulation. When votes are counted at multiple off-site locations there is less security. Few, if any, of the locations would have video surveillance. Rather than a few dozen people in one location, there would be hundreds of people in dozens of locations. How could we insure transparency? How could a candidate or campaign have a sufficient number of poll watchers? The need for sufficient pre-printed ballots at each location would introduce more opportunities for fraud. How are the ballots going to be secured? What happens to the unvoted ballots? What is the chain of custody for ballots from the precinct to elections headquarters?
It is difficult to find locations and volunteers for polling. A polling location for every precinct would require more than 350 locations. Security concerns have made it difficult to use schools. The predominant religion would rather not have us using their buildings. Every location would need to have ample parking and be accessible to people with disabilities. The natural consequence is long lines and voters choosing not to participate. There is much more evidence of location problems related to voting in Utah county in the last decade than in any of the rumors of "switched votes" and "stolen elections." Staffing those locations would require 1500-2000 people, most likely categorized as "paid volunteers". While these are likely to be our neighbors who we trust, what would keep bad actors from volunteering? What kind of vetting process would be required and implemented? What checks and balances and supervision will be in place? If the law was changed to require voting in person, I would do my best to rise to the challenge of finding theses places and recruiting and training these people. But let's not pretend that it would be easy.
Returning to in-person voting would be expensive. After having made the switch to vote-by-mail, a return to in-person voting would incur substantial costs. By most estimates it would triple the cost of elections. Any money saved by not mailing ballots would be dwarfed by increased costs of personnel, rental fees (if they are not waived), equipment and extra printing required for hundreds of in-person locations, year round storage for all of the equipment, and more. If there is public will for in-person voting, it needs to be matched with the public will for the increased costs it would necessitate.
Requiring someone to be in a specific place at a specific time to exercise a fundamental right is wrong. The world is different than it was 40 years ago - even ten years ago. We are busier. There are more demands on our time. So many other things have made our lives easier that it makes no sense to require in person voting when there are secure alternatives. Most importantly, the barriers associated with voting in person are not applied equally to all voters. It makes it easy for some and harder for others.
Every voting system has its advantages and disadvantages. Every voting system has potential for mischief and fraud. In-person voting is not necessarily more secure because of security protocols. In-person voting feels more secure simply because it is more familiar. If elected Clerk, I will work to help voters become familiar with vote-by-mail and all of the security safeguards around it. I will work in a spirit of transparency and voter education and outreach to build voter confidence in whatever system Utah County is required by law to use.
