Sure, what’s the harm of treating the ability to determine who runs the government like it’s a mailer from the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes?
There are several stories here.
First, mail-in ballots are absolutely not secure. 75% of the fraudulent ballots that she cast in the election in Washington State were counted. Only one was rejected due to a signature mismatch. And signature matching is one of those ballot verification features that Democrats have been combating and that they sidelined during the 2020 presidential election.
Second, voter fraud happens. And it’s not nearly the black swan event that opponents of election integrity claim. It’s rarely caught, but it’s also commonplace. Most small timers who do things like this don’t even take it seriously. They treat it like an extra lottery ticket. A chance to influence the process and put their thumb on the scale. People vote for deceased family members. They vote at multiple addresses. They vote for people who aren’t in town. Would they do this if it took more work than opening an envelope?
No.
Only the most committed would actually wait in line at polling places to cast phony votes. But when it’s as easy as opening an envelope, ticking a few boxes and then sealing up the envelope, a whole lot more people becoming willing to commit voter fraud.
And even when they’re caught, the damage is done.
A 52-year-old Pasco resident is accused of fraudulently voting in the 2024 election. Esperanza Contreras, an apartment building manager, was booked into the Franklin County jail Thursday afternoon on suspicion of 12 total counts including first-degree identity theft, forgery and second-degree theft.
It’s believed Contreras collected the ballots meant for the former tenants and was supposed to return the mail. Instead, she filled them out and mailed them back to the Franklin County Auditor’s Office.
The office’s signature checking caught one of the ballots, but missed the other three.
Contreras allegedly admitted to voting on all four ballots and forging the signatures. She told detectives she believed she was helping the former tenants.
Mail-in ballots can never be secure. They’re actually less secure than voting by phone. A phone could require biometrics or a password. A mail-in ballot can be used by anyone.
