最新蜜桃影像

Arlington County expects mail-in voter numbers to surge this year, with about 25% of voter turnout to be from mail-in ballots.听听

The Virginia Department of Elections increased mail-in ballot accessibility, and Arlington residents seem to be relying on them more now than before.听

As of Nov. 7, about half of the 14,000 mail-in ballots requested have been returned. The is expecting a voter turnout of 56,000 in total.

Among these accessibility changes, Arlington voters who are voting by mail this year will no longer have to get a witness signature on the envelope or have a witness present while filling in their ballot. Now, only a birthdate and the last four numbers of a social security number are required.听

Tania Griffin, Arlington County鈥檚 Office of Elections communications and outreach coordinator, said only 9% of voters submitted absentee ballots or mail-in ballots in the 2019 Arlington election prior to the pandemic. In last year鈥檚 election, 14% of Arlington voters who voted submitted a mail-in ballot. 听

This jump came after the Virginia Department of Elections eliminated in 2021 a requirement that voters submit a 鈥渧alid reason鈥� for requesting a mail-in absentee ballot. These reasons included having a disability, being out of town, or observing a religious holiday.听

Griffin said mail-in ballot requests surged during 2020 because of COVID-19. 最新蜜桃影像 80% of Arlington voters voted by mail or voted early in 2020.听

This year鈥檚 elimination of the witness signature requirement comes only two years after the Virginia Department of Elections reinstated the requirement following the pandemic. Griffin said that since people were quarantining during the pandemic, the need for a witness was temporarily waived.听听

Griffin said some residents may be confused about the changes and wants to clear up any confusion.

鈥淲e try to make it as clear as possible with our instructions,鈥� Griffin said. 鈥淭he only change is having the last four of your social.鈥�听

Griffin said these changes make voting more accessible.听听

鈥淏ased on the percentage of people who vote by mail now, it鈥檚 obviously more accessible, because you don鈥檛 have to provide an excuse,鈥� Griffin said.听听

Stephen Baker, a representative from the Arlington County Democratic Committee, said the elimination of a valid excuse requirement and the witness signature are not the only reasons mail-in ballots are more accessible.听

鈥淚 go around and knock on doors and talk to voters,鈥� Baker said. 鈥淨uite often, when you meet with maybe an older person or a person with a disability, it鈥檚 really their best and only opportunity to vote, so it鈥檚 good that we have that option.鈥澨�听

Baker said he has met voters who use mobility devices, wheelchairs, scooters or have vision problems, and they all take advantage of mail-in ballots.听

鈥淭hey can fill out their ballot at home with the help of whatever tools they have at home, versus having to take someone into the polls with them,鈥� Baker said. 鈥淚t really helps a wide range of people.鈥澨�听

Baker said getting rid of the witness signature was a 鈥渟tep in the right direction.鈥澨�听

鈥淲e鈥檙e happy to see when laws make it easier,鈥� Baker said.听

Jessica Siles is the deputy press secretary for Voters of Tomorrow, an organization that engages younger generations politically.听Siles said young voters also benefit from the mail-in ballot option.听

鈥淵oung people have certain barriers to voting,鈥� Siles said. 鈥淵oung people report transportation as an obstacle to voting. Anytime we can alleviate an obstacle, or make it easier for young people to vote, they鈥檙e more likely to vote.鈥�听

Arlington鈥檚 household survey report published in 2021 indicated that 12% of Arlington households were car-less in 2017 to 2018.听听

Siles also said eliminating barriers, like requiring a witness signature and a reason for requesting a mail-in ballot, encourages college students to vote as well.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 a way for college students to vote where they call home without having to drive a long way or take a plane,鈥� Siles said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a way for them to be involved civically in their community.鈥�听

Don Gurney, voter service chair and a member of the board of directors for the League of Women Voters, said despite claims of inaccuracies and errors in the mail-in ballot voting system, the system is just as secure as voting in-person.听

鈥淭here are claims that people return multiple ballots, that ballots are printed from China, and are just dumped into the system,鈥� said Gurney. 鈥淓ven if that really happened, the system would catch it.鈥�听

Gurney said Arlington County鈥檚 Office of Elections tracks a mail-in ballot鈥檚 every move.听

鈥淭here鈥檚 no way for somebody to come up with a truckload of ballots and dump them in and have them counted, because they know where the ballots went and they know whether they came back or not,鈥� said Gurney. 鈥淭hey track them all the way.鈥�听

Gurney lives in a senior living facility. As a voter, he said voting by mail has increased his own accessibility to vote. He also said several of听his neighbors vote by mail too.听

One Arlington voter, James Scarborough, said he believes voting by mail is not as secure as voting in person.听

鈥淚 think it makes fraud a little easier,鈥� Scarborough said.听听

Scarborough said he will be taking to the polls Tuesday.听

鈥淲e have a lot of people who are poll watchers,鈥� Scarborough said. 鈥淭hey catch things.鈥澨�听

Arlington residents Nick and Cory Giacobbe lived overseas for 30 years working for the foreign service. They used mail-in ballots to stay active in Arlington politics while they were gone.听听

鈥淲e鈥檝e used them pretty much exclusively for the past decade, and we just came back last year,鈥� Nick Giacobbe said. 鈥淎rlington does a really good job of getting the ballots out in time to get them back.鈥�听

The Giacobbes said Arlington has also made mail-in ballots more accessible by making mail-in ballots available early over email.听

鈥淵ou get the ballot by email, and then you print it out and follow the instructions,鈥� Cory Giacobbe said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like doing origami.鈥�听

Cory Giacobbe said eliminating the witness signature might听affect voter identity security, but she听said the likelihood of someone 鈥渟ending in a bunch of ballots for people they know鈥� is low. Overall, the couple said they think doing away with the requirement makes voting more accessible.听

鈥淚t eliminates the need to have a co-conspirator,鈥� Nick Giacobbe said.听

Another Arlington resident, Henry McFarland, said a witness signature is not required in other states, so it should not be required in Virginia.听

鈥淭he few times I鈥檝e used a mail-in ballot, not in the state of Virginia, I wasn鈥檛 required to do that, and I think it would have been burdensome if I had to,鈥� McFarland said. 听

All mail-in ballots must be postmarked by election day, Nov. 7, and Arlington County鈥檚 Office of Elections needs to receive it in their office by Nov. 13 at noon.听The Arlington County Republican Committee did not return calls seeking comment.听

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