Harry's Gang: Mail voting needs vetting

It's been proposed that we conduct the next few elections by mail. No in-person voting, until the threat of COVID-19 subsides and it's safe to congregate at polling places. Plus, it's been hard to find enough election judges as it is. Add in the fear of getting the virus and it will be even harder to properly staff polling places this fall.

Still, elections are extremely important, and should not be postponed or altered except in the most extreme situations. Even then, modifications to voting should be as minimal as possible. So, alternatives need to be discussed.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon wants this year's elections to be held by mail. Simon is not a favorite of the Minnesota Republicans, and his proposal was not exactly received well. Still, we have to consider it.

I'm intrigued. Retired Judge Carol Person is advocating for the idea. I asked her via e-mail the logical question: How do we address fraud? It's no secret that some political types scream "voter fraud" fairly often, and if we switch to an all-mail system, we better address those concerns now.

"The military abroad have been voting by mail for years," she said. "Five states, including Utah (a Republican state) vote almost entirely by mail. Even President Trump voted by mail in the Florida primary and mid-terms. Members of his cabinet voted by mail. It works."

If we vote by mail, I'm certain we may be sacrificing some of the secrets of the voting booth that we've enjoyed for so long. There's some comfort in knowing that on an issue as important as voting, we can vote however we want once we are behind that curtain, and no one has to know how we voted. Not my wife. Not my neighbor. Not my parents.

But mail-in ballots take that privacy away. Right now, no one is allowed in voting booths unless there's an obvious need for help. That's what Denise Hammond told me, who has been an election judge in my ward for about as long as I can remember. She said that she's never seen the type of fraud I am concerned about: The only time someone has helped in the voting booth has been with those in obvious need, she said.

Denise shares my concerns. Voting by mail opens up the possibility that someone pressures or influences a voter. And the accountability is worrisome: How would we even know if the voter actually filled out the ballot themselves? Surely, a signature is required but I doubt anyone will be comparing signatures on ballots to those on voter registration forms. It's basically an honor system, and fraud would be difficult to catch.

In court, we recently moved to e-signing documents, which is a fancy way of saying "typed." No one actually signs the document that is filed with the court; we just trust that the client actually approved the affidavit they e-signed. (We do have the client sign an original copy, but that copy stays in the office. No one has ever asked me to see an original signature yet, but I suppose it might happen eventually.)

Those affidavits are routinely written by the attorney, even though the affidavit states "I hereby state and swear as follows." I include a paragraph that says "My attorney drafted this document but using my thoughts and words" so the judge knows that the clear arguments, delightful prose, and well-reasoned sentences are mine but the ideas are the client's. I haven't noticed an abuse of this process yet, but it does concern me.

I'd agree to hold the election by mail this year, due to the pandemic, but I'd need a lot of questions answered before I'd support it permanently.

Pete Radosevich is the publisher of the Pine Knot News community newspaper and an attorney in Esko who hosts the talk show Harry's Gang on CAT-7. He can be reached at [email protected].