Old School
Elections have changed in the COVID era. The “old-school” election took place on Tuesday. The vast number of voters went to the polls, where they were “processed” by poll workers. They got a ballot, made their selections, and their ballot was checked and tabulated. The precinct tabulations were added together, and the election results reported out in a few hours. We knew “who won” by late Tuesday evening.
Process
Early voters today go to a central polling place, where the same processing occurs. “Processing” is about three things. First, it’s about identity, are you who you say you are. In the “Red Map” era, that’s become much more involved, as many states demand a State Identification document for “proof”. For most suburban voters, a Driver’s License solves the problem and it’s not a big deal. For urban voters, and particularly for lower income voters, obtaining a state ID is a more difficult issue. And that’s intentional, the ID laws are written to keep them from voting.
Second it’s about voting only once. There are many opportunities to vote: early in-person voting, absentee or “mail-in” voting, and regular in-person Election Day voting. While the Democratic Party joke is to “Vote early and Vote often”, in reality the system is designed to prevent exactly that. Not only do the ballots need to be counted and protected; but a record needs to be kept of all voters and when they vote (not who they vote for). So when you get a “mail-in” ballot, but still choose to go to the polls on Election Day, the “system” has to “know” that you had both. Only one can count, so either you “spoil” the “mail-in” when you vote at the polls, or you commit voter fraud, and are subject to criminal sanctions.
Third it’s about getting the “right” ballot. Different jurisdictions have different issues up for vote. Here locally in Pataskala there are two possible school districts, several different local governmental jurisdictions, and a variety of precinct level issues. So when you vote, they need to make sure you are voting on the correct issues for your residence.
COVID World
When a voter chooses to vote by mail, the first two parts of the “process” don’t take place until the Board of Elections receives your ballot. And in COVID world, millions of Americans decided that it was safer to vote by mail. Who can blame them, COVID infection rates are higher than ever. Over 100,000 Americans are getting infected a day, and over a thousand are dying from the disease daily.
When that mail-in ballot arrives at the Board of Elections, the small number of central workers goes through the processes for each one. And, since many state legislatures restrict when the processing can begin and don’t allow the ballots to be touched until Election Day –it takes a while.
So in the “good old days” we all did our “Norman Rockwell” and lined up at the polls to vote on Election Day. Only the really sick, aged, or those out of town were allowed to vote absentee. It was Election Day, and the results were out on Election night.
But now we can vote for almost a month before the technical Election Day. And many millions of Americans vote by mail. We don’t pay Boards of Elections to have the numbers of personnel to process all of those mail ballots in an evening, so it takes more time to count them. Just as we now have a voting season, we also have a counting season (A time to vote, a time to count – Turn-Turn-Turn*).
Partiality
Boards of Election recognize that their work is fraught with danger. Everyone is worried about someone cheating, adding or subtracting votes to control who gets elected. One way to deal with that would be to have a “neutral” counting system, kind of a “monastery” of vote counters who don’t have a “dog in the fight”. But no one really trusts that impartiality, and so we have the opposite.
In each Board of Election in each county or parish or district, there are parallel jobs. If the Director is a Republican, the Deputy is a Democrat. If the head clerk is a Democrat, the Assistant Clerk is a Republican. When votes are counted, at least two do the counting – you guessed it, one Democrat, one Republican. We keep our election system honest by making everything transparent, and then putting both political parties in as part of the process.
We also allow observers into the process to watch. They are only observers (JAFO) and have no part in the process. They can’t talk, they can’t touch, and if they see something, they have a separate procedure to report it. But that has led to a problem in our recent elections.
In 2000, a group of Republican staffers determined that the vote re-count was going against their candidate. They disrupted the process. Inside as observers, they began to chant, yell, and pound on the walls. It got so bad, that the re-count was halted, giving the staffers exactly what they wanted. And that tactic is now part of partisan “lore”: everyone is willing to try to gain that advantage. So the “observers” are now trying to be participants, and if they get kicked out, have a “cause celebre” to put on YouTube.
Unofficial
So here we are on the Sunday after Tuesday of “election season”. The “final unofficial” counts are almost complete. The networks, appointing themselves to the task of declaring “winners”, may actually have gathered the courage to make their declarations. Maybe NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox and the Associated Press will say what we all can reasonably see: Joe Biden is the next President of the United States.
Not that what they say actually matters. The states will certify their results in about a week. The candidates will have the opportunity to question, or demand recounts, or whatever, after that. The final certification of results will be the first week of December, and the Governors will certify their Electors to the Electoral College and that time. And it actually isn’t until January 6th, 2021, that the Congress receives and counts those votes, and declares an official winner for President and Vice President (US Code §15).
Which gives Donald Trump plenty of time to question the results, stir up rumors of cheating, and deny the will of the voters.
A time for votes, a time for count.
A time for whining, a time for protests.
A time for courts, a time fear.
A time for a new leaders,
I hope it’s not too late.*
(*Apologies to the Byrds and Pete Seeger for co-opting their song!!).
