Reply #14: Fact that Gov Bob Ehrlich (R-MD) has urged voting absentee for [View All]

[ProgressiveEconomist]

months could mean that, in some states, you may be framing absentee voting incorrectly. Making it easier to request absentee ballots and encouraging their use inherently may tend to raise the Republican vote and depress the Democratic vote.

Before the Help America Vote Act shook things up, in many states suburban Republicans had much more experience voting absentee than did Democrats. Many states required written requests including reasons for wanting an absentee ballots, and meeting deadlines far in advance of Election Day. Wealthy Republicans tend to be better at dealing with bureaucratic red tape than poor Democrats. When Republicans receive absentee ballots in the mail for the first time, chances are they'll do a better job complying with confusing instructions to the letter, and they'll have other experienced Republican absentee voters to call on if they have a question. More Democrats than Republicans who receive absentee ballots for the first time might fail to fill then out altogether, or might fail to fill in every required item.

The mail is less reliable in poor neighborhoods than in wealthy suburbs, and Democrats who request them may not get thim in time to send them in. If so, they would be told at the polls they cannot vote in person because of their absentee request.

So before 2000, many election analysts opined that a larger absentee votie favored Republicans That still may be true.