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Among Norm’s<\/a> excellent suggestions:<\/p>\n 1. Print a huge supply of absentee ballots and return envelopes. If state and local election officials can’t afford to do so, they can establish public-private partnerships, using resources from foundations, corporations, and others to get it done.<\/p>\n 2. Make large numbers of these absentee ballots available at every polling place on early-voting days and on Election Day—but especially at those precincts where long lines can reasonably be expected<\/p>\n 3. Let voters whose absentee ballot did not arrive in the mail get one at the polling place, where they can fill it out on the spot—or take it somewhere nearby to do so—then deposit it in a safe receptacle at the polling place. Give them a separate line at polling places, to shorten the one for those with no problems. This strategy worked well in Kenton County, Kentucky, in its primary.<\/p>\n 4. Allow any voter who fears waiting in line for hours the option of filling out an absentee ballot and submitting it at the polling place. Voters would have to attest, under penalty of perjury, that they are qualified to vote in that precinct.<\/p>\n 5. In states that require signatures on absentee ballots to be notarized, recruit local notaries to provide their service at the polling places where long lines and delays are expected.<\/p>\n 6. Urge high schools, colleges, and universities to recruit students to act as poll workers. Train them at the schools, and give them credit for their service….<\/p>\n Congress, too, could play a constructive role by holding hearings on the Electoral Count Act and, ideally, enact revisions before November. Among them could be providing more flexibility for electors to cast their votes, adjusting subsequent deadlines if vote counting is not complete by the December deadlines, and offering better guidelines on resolving contested electoral slates. For example, if some states do not end up having their electoral votes counted, will 270 votes still be required to declare a presidential winner? Congress must plan for all possibilities. That includes the prospects that the pandemic may bar Congress from holding sessions on the crucial dates, starting with swearing in members on January 3. Even if congressional procedures currently in use in the House for remote voting by proxy remain, they in no way cover convening a new Congress, where no rules exist, much less all of the members taking their oath of office. The Senate, meanwhile, has no contingency plan at all.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Tags:<\/b> Rick Hasen<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n
See Campaign: <\/strong>https:\/\/electionlawblog.org\/?p=113339<\/a>
Contact Information:<\/b>
Rick Hasen<\/p>\n
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Among Norm’s excellent suggestions: 1. Print a huge supply of absentee ballots and return envelopes. If state and local election officials can’t afford to do so, they can establish public-private partnerships, using resources from foundations, corporations, and others to get it done. 2. Make large numbers of these absentee ballots available at every polling place on … Continue reading “A democracy cannot rely on luck:” Crucial Norm Ornstein Column in The Atlantic: “The November Election Is Going to Be a Mess Disaster is avoidable—if lawmakers act now.”<\/span><\/a> Continue Reading