WE HATE MAIL-IN BALLOTS

By Greg Decker

I think I can speak for most if not all of us when I say that we hate the current system of unlimited use of mail-in ballots. We hate it because we know that the use of mail-in ballots increases the opportunity for fraud and we assume that our opposition promotes this system precisely for that reason.

We fought against it and tried to curtail it. We hated it so badly that we have encouraged our voters to avoid it’s use entirely!

So, why are we embracing it now?

Short answer, because the Dems are beating us badly by using it and the simple truth is that the opportunity for fraud exists regardless of whether or not we Republicans choose to use it!

You must play by the rules as they are, not as you wish them to be.  Know the rules and adjust your campaign plan accordingly.  Sooner rather than later.  Like…yesterday.

The Democrats have long had a machine dedicated to “chasing” and “harvesting” ballots. Even when most voting occurred on a single day, they mounted concerted efforts to make sure that their voters submitted their ballots, even if they had to pay volunteers to corral and otherwise entice their voters to show up. With the mail-in ballot and early voting periods now in place, those efforts are just that much easier.

It’s time for us to swallow hard and simply embrace the use of both mail-in ballots and early voting so that we can take advantage of the opportunities to chase down our own votes!  We do not have the resources to chase down all our voters on election day but we can mount a significant effort over the weeks that mail-in ballots are out and during the early voting period. The data for who has voted is available. The Dems are using this data and we must do so as well to become competitive.

Every election cycle, we mount a “Get out the Vote” campaign to encourage our voters. Why should we continue to put ourselves at a competitive disadvantage by rejecting the use of early and mail-in ballots by our own voters?

Yes, we should continue to fight to eliminate the widespread use of mail-in ballots and early voting periods.

Yes, we should re-double our efforts to be part of the process of the canvassing of ballots, especially mail-in ballots.

Yes, we should continue to fight to cleanse the voters rolls and increase attention on authenticating  voters.

And Yes, we should encourage our voters to fully participate in early voting methods so that we can take advantage of the opportunity to maximize Republican votes. The best way to insure Republican Votes is to encourage our voters to sign up for the permanent mail-in (absentee) ballot list.

It’s not the only thing we need to do, but it is critical if we are to become competitive.

Greg Decker, MCGOP