BOSTON (CN) — Millions of Americans will vote by mail for the first time this November, but they disagree about the absentee-ballot process almost as much as they disagree about their preferred candidate.
Whether voting in person is safe, whether mail balloting is trustworthy, and especially whether “mailing it in” makes them feel less like a part of an important civic process all evoked strong reactions from voters around the country who spoke with Courthouse News.
“I remember standing in line years ago with my baby daughter and voting in a governor’s race,” said Anne Quirk of Belmont, Massachusetts. “I don’t even remember who I voted for that year, but I’ll never forget the feeling of bringing my newborn to participate in something important.”
Many voters agree that queuing up in person with their neighbors is emotionally meaningful.
“Standing in line with my kids in tow, I feel connected to the strangers in line with me, all of us showing up to do our part,” said Marie Wright, a school board official near Colorado Springs.
“The line sometimes being as long as some we have stood in for an amusement park ride somehow emphasizes that this is important,” Wright observed.
Mike Garon, a university accountant, said it’s stressful to vote on his morning commute to work but “I really like the process of voting in person. To be a part of the community and see people in your district feels meaningful. Voting by mail just doesn’t have the same feeling to me.”
Added Marc Freedman, a lobbyist in Washington, D.C.: “It's one of the times I get to see some of my neighbors, and I like to see what turnout is like and the ‘civic duty’ nature of it — feeling like I'm part of the process.”
Megan Hamner, a Boston-area marketing professional, said, “I like getting the ‘I voted’ sticker and the sense of civic pride I get wearing it around all day.”
On the other hand, many voters care far more about the result than the feeling of community participation.
“It's not an emotional experience for me,” said Elizabeth Carlson, the founder of a music-education nonprofit in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
“I just want to make sure my vote is counted and the experience is as low-stress as possible,” Carlson said.
Voters in states such as Washington that have had universal mail-in elections for a while often have a different take on the process.
“There was nothing special about voting in person,” said Jennifer Varey, who lives in the Puget Sound area near Seattle. “Checking in with the old ladies who could barely read the names on the page, finding my name for them when they couldn't, hoping I didn’t leave any inconclusive chads hanging on my ballot, and stressed people in line wanting to get home to their dinner. Nothing there to miss.”
The first time Al Jacoby, a New York-area finance professional, voted was as a college student. “It was a cold rainy day and the lines were long, and I remember waiting outside in the rain for quite a bit longer than I liked. I vowed then that I would always vote absentee, so I could vote from the comfort of my home.”
But while Jacoby finds mail-in voting easier, others say it’s more difficult.
“Mail seems like too much work,” said Melanie Footer, an advertising sales representative in Massachusetts. “You have to request the ballot, then you have to wait for the ballot, then you have to remember to mail the ballot and ... do I have a stamp?