However, support for the idea is split along ideological lines. A supermajority of voters who are registered or lean Democratic — 77 percent — back the idea. Republicans are more divided: 48 percent are opposed and 42 percent in favor.
House Democrats have proposed mandating that states send all voters a ballot in the case of emergencies — in their most recent coronavirus relief package, dubbed the HEROES Act, along with other sweeping changes to the elections. The bill would also require universal “no-excuse” absentee voting, online and same-day voter registration and expanded early voting, among other changes.
In broad strokes, Americans support the expansion of no-excuse absentee voting. A recent Pew Research Center found seven in 10 adults supported allowing any voter to vote by mail if they want to.
But congressional Republicans have long opposed Democrats’ efforts to make major changes to the electoral system. They’ve argued that Democrats are trying to federalize elections, and that there wasn’t enough time to make such widespread changes before the November election.
“I’m not opposed to vote-by-mail programs,” said Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), the ranking member on the House Rules Committee. But states, he said, should determine how to conduct their own elections, adapting to specific circumstances.
“We as Republicans have a distinct, different philosophy on what the federal government’s role in elections should be. We believe that the states and localities are the best ones to get their voters to the polls and recognize what’s going to give everybody an opportunity to cast a vote,” Davis continued.
Davis cited concerns that a rapid switch to a vote-by-mail system could leave some voters disenfranchised, a point that’s been echoed by activists for the disabled communities, Native Americans and others.
President Donald Trump has also vocally opposed voting by mail, alleging without evidence that it would lead to widespread fraud. Trump himself has voted absentee.
House Democrats’ expansive HEROES Act is, as Democrats privately acknowledge, unlikely to become law. Instead, it’s their opening bid for the next coronavirus relief negotiations. Democrats could vote as early as Friday on passage of the package.
However, Senate Republicans are cool on advancing any further relief legislation at the moment. „If we reach a decision along with the administration to move to another phase, that will be the time to interact with the Democrats,“ Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday.
The election administration reforms in the package would likely be one of many points of contention. McConnell strongly opposed Democrats’ expansive election reform bill H.R. 1, which contained some of the same reforms included in the HEROES Act and was passed on a party line vote in the House in early 2019.
Democrats argue that the public widely supports their proposals — and that the election security grant funding mechanism included in the HEROES Act is of critical importance.
“On balance, [voters] think voting by mail is a good idea, and that we ought to expand that opportunity. They also, based on preference or access or other factors, want to make sure that there’s going to be some meaningful in-person voting opportunities,” said Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), who helped shepherd H.R. 1 through the House last year.
Sarbanes and other Democrats also said all forms of voting need to be available in November. Those include „expanded vote by mail, significant early voting opportunities, and then safe in-person voting opportunities on Election Day,“ he said. „We need all three of those things.”
House Democrats are seeking to allocate $3.6 billion in additional funding to election officials to help prepare their states for holding elections in the middle of the pandemic. The first CARES relief package included $400 million for that purpose.
Some outside groups are pressing for more funding for state and local election officials, arguing that time is running short.
“We understand that Democrats may not be able to convince Republicans to ensure specific language about vote by mail,“ said Sean Eldridge, founder of the liberal group Stand Up America. „But we think $4 billion in election [security] funding” is critical. Stand Up America backs the entire HEROES Act.
Democrats are also seeking to scrap a requirement that was in the first CARES Act that mandated states match 20 percent of the federal election grant to receive the money. The mandate has irked election officials from both parties.
Source: politico.com
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