Letter: Great election reset
The nonpartisan 2005 Commission on Federal Election Reform, co-chaired by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, noted among its many findings and recommendations that because it takes place outside the regulated environment of local polling locations, voting by mail creates increased logistical challenges and the potential for vote fraud.
The COVID-19 pandemic of 2019 has "reset" the way elections are held for U.S. voters now and forever in casting their legal vote. The once "absentee ballot" option for registered voters who prefer not to vote in person is replaced by a vote-by-mail ballot. But today these vote-by-mail ballots are not an alternative process to cast your vote; they now have become a "permanent" means for citizens on request to cast their vote.
How often have you heard that a registered voter has permanently moved out-of-state and is still on the state of Illinois records as a registered voter? Also, if the state authority decides to purge the invalid registered voters the political activists scream "voter suppression" and none of these invalid voters are removed.
As documented in 2005, voting by mail increases the potential for "vote fraud" and the option for "permanent" vote-by-mail ballots probably increase the odds by tenfold. Based on the current political climate in Illinois, it's safe to say this blue state will never turn purple, often referred to as a "battleground" state, with any chance of change in progressive ideology or more governmental control over our lives.
Robert Meale
Crystal Lake