By Kirstyn Hill

September 21, 2020

 In recent years, it has been shown that Americans find themselves dreading the overwhelming voting system. Many are debating over whether they should just simply not vote or resort to mail-in ballots. Mail-in ballots have been many people’s main source of voting for a while now as it tends to be the most efficient option for any average American voter. 

   The United States President Donald Trump threatened to cut millions of dollars from the post office’s funding, which would have gone directly to covering the mail-in ballots. He stated that “If we don’t make a deal that means they don’t get the money. That means they can’t have universal mail-in voting.” With the loss of mail-in voting, there would be a significant decrease in active voters this election season.

  With no sufficient system to safely vote, mail-in ballots were potentially the best option during this pandemic. In-person voting will not be safe this year due to COVID-19, so voting at home and delivering it yourself is the safest and most reliable option. In recent weeks, it has been revealed that the plan for “vaccines by-election day” is not going to happen. Limiting the spread of the virus it is crucial to find a reliable and efficient method of voting this season.

   Donald Trump appointed his long time mega-donator and close ally, Louis Dejoy, as the Postmaster-General, and Democrats are calling for the removal of him from this position immediately. It is even being argued that Trump is purposely attempting to sabotage the U.S. Postal Service to benefit him in the election. The Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, is currently leading in the polls and it is believed that Trump is messing with USPS to win once again.

   Andrew Bates, a spokesman for Biden’s campaign, stated in an interview with The Guardian, “The president of the United States is sabotaging a basic service that hundreds of millions of people rely upon, cutting a critical lifeline for rural economies and for delivery of medicines because he wants to deprive Americans of their fundamental right to vote safely during the most catastrophic public health crisis in over 100 years.”

   In this 2020 election season, if you can legally vote, and would like to have your vote properly accounted for.   It is recommended to fill out a ballot and drop it off directly at your nearest voting center. as what’s to come is unpredictable this year.