The numbers are alarming. More than half a million mail ballots cast in the 2024 elections were rejected and never counted. Not because they were illegitimate, but because voters often made easily avoidable mistakes.
They forgot to sign and date the envelope or get a witness to sign. Or their signature was out of date. Or they used the wrong envelope.
That’s not to mention the thousands of other eligible voters who showed up at the polls that year and were unable to vote. They might have forgotten to bring the right ID, or their name wasn’t on the rolls, or they went to the wrong precinct.
That happened in Dallas County, Texas, this spring when confusion over new polling sites led to the disqualification of almost 2,000 ballots cast too late.
Americans are understandably anxious about the upcoming midterms. We have a president who repeatedly spreads false information about our elections and has threatened federal intervention if states don’t comply with his demands. Immigration enforcement raids have raised fears in many communities of potential violence at or near the polls.