The Teen View Forum

Vaishali Ojha- Due to the COVID-19 crisis, I believe mail-in ballots are the safest way to handle national voting. Mail-in ballots will inhibit interpersonal contact and therefore keep the virus from spreading, as voting ballots are often crowded, so they’re an optimal breeding ground for any disease. Mail-in voting won’t advance voter fraud any more than the usual in-person voting. No election will be totally secure from voter fraud brought on by any other country, no matter the type of voting process we enlist, so our main strategy at this time should revolve around keeping the most people in America safe from the virus.

Sneha Subramani - I believe that in-person voting is a reality not possible with COVID-19. The easiest way to make sure everyone stays safe while exercising their way to vote is with mail-in voting. Even with in-person voting, voter suppression was committed as seen in the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election between Stacey Abrams (D) and Brian Kemp (R). Voter fraud should not keep us from protecting the people of America, with mail-in ballots. With past and current events, I do not believe that election is not secure from influence from other countries trying to interfere

Sachi Ramachandran- I think it is pertinent to public health that we do our best to utilize mail-in voting. Voting polls will be swarmed with many people and will not be safe during a global pandemic. Voting in the upcoming election is incredibly important for the future of our country and we must do our best to make sure that each citizen is given an opportunity to vote. The government must be decisive about how we will vote in November. There is no way to make each election completely safe from voter fraud but mail-in ballots will not affect that. It is in our best interest to prioritize the health of our citizens while voting. The US is an incredibly powerful country and the leader we elect and the decisions they make as the president affect the whole world. Therefore, our elections may not be totally safe from other countries' interference. 

Aasim Musani- With a Presidential Election just over the horizon, our government needs to make decisions. It has been proven that our voting system isn't foolproof after the Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential Election. Both sides of the aisle are struggling with the faltering economy. COVID-19 is making everything seem much more difficult than it once was. And now we have to vote in one of the most important votes that this country has ever seen. I think that if we can open in-person voting following CDC guidelines, it could put less pressure on the voting system while keeping the voters safe. But if in-person voting isn't possible, there is no choice but to vote by mail-in ballots. And if we have to resort to mail-in ballots, our leaders have to show bipartisan cooperation to make them safer from fraud and more adopted for wide-scale use. The election system is a key piece to the puzzle of democracy, and without it being near perfect in these trying times, I fear that this country could be torn apart at the seams. 

Shreya Sunil - At this point, it is highly unlikely that in-person voting can take place. Due to the abundant number of voters storming voting sites and the inclusion of social distancing will not ensure people's safety while deciding the future leader of this country. I believe that mail-in voting would be the best option in this dreadful situation, with everyone's health coming into consideration. Now you might be thinking about the chances of voter fraud taking place, but either way, there is absolutely no way to ensure the validity of the election as we have seen in previous elections. Elections will never be secure from other countries' influence. Since the United States is a world power, all other leaders will try to butt in and take advantage of the elections taking place. But it's all up to the government to help fix this problem. We should express our mindsets and allow the mail-in voting procedure to be implemented. That is the safest and most effective way to conduct our state and national elections.

Alex Butler - I believe mail-in voting is the most logical solution to the questionable safety of voting conditions this year. The mail-in voting system already exists and can be easily adapted for wider use in place of in-person voting. Voter fraud is always a risk with elections, whether they are done in person or through the mail, so I believe mailing in balloting wouldn’t necessarily cause more voter fraud. Mailing in ballots would actually allow more people to vote, as some people can’t get to in-person voting stations due to sickness, working conditions, and other factors. In my opinion, voting through the mail is a very good solution to the unsafe environment that in-person voting would create.

Austen Wyche - Voting by mail in the upcoming 2020 Elections must be an option as many are sick and vulnerable to catching the COVID-19 virus. Voter Fraud is so minuscule there have been only 31 cases of Voter Fraud out 1,000,000,000 ballots that were cast in the last 20 years. The idea of voter fraud is real in essence, but the use of voter fraud to justify restrictive voting measures such as blocking mail-in voting is unjustifiable. The use of mail-in voting is already implemented in many states, and would not open the door to any fraud. The real danger in this election to voting will be foreign interference and voter suppression. The Republican-led Senate has continuously blocked election security funding, as they claim countries won’t interfere, even though they have in previous elections. We are not safe from foreign interference, particularly Russia, which helped elect President Trump in 2016 through a misinformation campaign. The only reason that so-called “voter fraud” is being pushed is due to the President wanting fewer people to vote. Low voter turnout benefits the Republican Party. Those in urban cities, particularly minorities, will be targeted by GOP voter suppression by closing polling places, and implementing harsh rules such as in Alabama, where to vote by mail you must get the ballot notarized (Hurts low-income individuals). To truly secure and make voting more accessible, we must fight voter suppression and foreign interference, neither of which have been acknowledged by the White House. In addition to mail-in voting, we must have polling places open, as many may not be able to access their mail-in ballots due to constant USPS failure to get them delivered. In response to the new reality of mail-in voting, President Trump announced budget *cuts* to the United States Postal Service, directly hindering the organization from doing its job with mail-in voting. He is deliberately making it harder to vote. That is what we must stop. 

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