Stay Safe FAQ Related to Vote by Mail

July 24, 2020

This FAQ outlines the use and efficacy of safeguards in the VOTE BY MAIL (VBM) system when implemented according to our best practices as outlined by the National Vote at Home Institute (NVAHI) and as implemented in various states and jurisdictions across the country.

1)     Is voter fraud already a huge problem? Will this make it worse?

First of all, we reject the idea that voter fraud is a problem on a large, medium or even small scale. On the whole, voter fraud anywhere is exceedingly rare. And the per capita rate of fraud is no higher, and often lower, in the 100% or high mailed-out ballot use states. For example, the last one in Oregon is from 2013, with a total of 2 mailed-out ballot related cases since 2000 when 100% vote by mail became the law. The last Washington absentee fraud case was in 2010, before they went to 100% VBM. Colorado had one absentee prosecution in 2012 and one in 2017, one before and one after they went to 100% mailed-out ballots.

2)     Can a voter “lose a ballot,” request a new one and vote twice?

No, ballot envelopes are barcoded to the individual voter. Upon return, only one ballot from any voter is accepted – the first one in. Others are rejected – and if criminal intent is suspected, the voter could be prosecuted. Ballots in an envelope with no barcode are rejected.

3)     Can someone steal a ballot out of the mail and vote it?

  1. Stealing, attempting to steal, or even hiding another person’s mail is a Federal felony offense. Second, voter fraud, depending on the situation can be both state and federal crimes. The return on investment of defrauding a single vote is hardly worth the cost, but there are ramifications for those who do.
  2. To ensure that only eligible electors cast a vote, voter validation is a key piece of the process. The recommended best practice today is a robust and demographically blind signature verification procedure that includes bipartisan teams of trained signature judges. This eliminates opportunities for unconscious bias or human error by volunteer poll workers. This means every return ballot envelope is signed by the voter, and each signature is validated based on official signatures already on file – e.g. the voter’s registration document, prior election ballot envelopes, motor vehicle transactions, etc. Signature judges can be trained utilizing best practices from handwriting experts, including many from law enforcement. If the signature doesn’t match, and a secondary bipartisan review team cannot determine a match, the voter is contacted immediately and given multiple paths to resolve the discrepancy. This “cure” period extends after Election Day to allow all votes to be counted.

4)     What about North Carolina? They had a major voter fraud scandal recently.

There were five major reasons for the problems in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional district.

  • Burdensome witness requirements. Bad actors utilized a weakness in their witnessing rules by offering a “service” to unsuspecting If North Carolina had used voter signature verification instead of a witness process, voters would not have required the “assistance” of these bad actors that then tampered with their ballots.
  • Insufficient drop-off options for voters. In North Carolina, if the voter has not mailed back their ballot in time, the law requires hand delivery to a county election office, which may be many miles away. Again, bad actors offered “assistance,” even though the law says the deliverer should be a close Ample secure drop boxes, available 24/7, could help remove this opening.
  • Lack of a ballot tracking system. Being able to track the ballot (as you would a package) both on the way to the voter and on the return path would have flagged the ballots that “went missing.” This technology is used in many states that have high mailed-out ballot use.
  • Lack of good communications with Clear design and voter education are key. Warnings such as “seal your ballot once it is voted” and “do not provide your completed ballot to someone you do not know and trust” can help.
  • Lack of protections in the law. Strong penalties matter. In Oregon, tampering with a mailed-out ballot is a felony, carrying a $25,000 fine and five years in jail for each ballot. Misdirect a handful of ballots and the bad actor could face decades in prison.

5)     Will non-citizens be able to get ballots and vote illegally?

No, the question of U.S. citizenship is handled during the voter registration process, which occurs before a ballot can be mailed.

6)     What happens if someone dies? Do they still get a ballot that someone can fill out for them?

Ballots only go out to active registered voters. States and local jurisdictions with effective Vote at Home systems have automated processes that regularly match death records to the voter registration lists to prevent ballots going to a deceased voter. And signature verification provides a second level of security.

7)     People move all the time, how can we be sure their ballots aren’t going to an old address where someone could intercept it?

First, ballots are non-forwardable and anyone tampering with it is committing a crime and will also be caught by a signature verification system. Second, Vote at Home recommends that states utilize the USPS National Change of Address (NCOA) database and that states become part of the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) which shares address change data nationwide. Vote at Home encourages states to implement policies like automatic voter registration that helps capture address changes from other government touch points like the DMV or other social service agencies.

8)     What if I don’t get my ballot in the mail or I don’t trust the postal service to deliver it?

  1. The USPS is an incredibly reliable service, but if for some reason you do not receive your ballot (or even spill coffee on it or misplace it), you can request a new one from your local clerk or vote in person.
  2. If you are very concerned that your ballot will not be returned or that you missed the mail deadline, you can always utilize a 24/7 dropbox or take the ballot to your polling place. Some states even provide drive-thru ballot drop off options.
  3. Other states use ballot tracking tools (like UPS or FedEx tracking) to inform a voter where their ballot is in the process in real time. Ex: when a ballot is mailed, delivered, received, signature verified and counted. If there is a discrepancy, missing signature or other issue, the system can even notify the voter and help them remedy the problem.

9)     If I have my ballot at home, what if my family members or people close to me unduly pressure me to vote for their candidate/issue?

While undue influence is possible (and also a crime) in almost any election system, hundreds of millions of VBM ballots cast over the last 20 years reveal it’s a non-problem. Those concerned about this issue should instead work to strengthen state laws that deter and punish bad actors from taking advantage of voters.

10)  I heard it is so easy to divert ballots and that if people do it, they would only get a slap on the wrist if they get caught. Is that true?

False. As mentioned above, in Oregon, if you intentionally tamper with or divert a mailed-out ballot, it is a felony, punishable by a $25,000 fine and up to 5 years in jail for every ballot. Stiff penalties make the risk/reward equation of someone thinking about election interference unthinkable.

11)  Is vote by mail just a plot from the political “left”?

Truthfully, every state has a vote by mail process right now. They only differ by how broadly they offer mail ballots to voters and how they administer the system. Many states that could be considered “conservative,” “red,” or even “Republican” have a large number of voters who prefer to vote by mail. Utah, for instance, was the 4th state to move to an all vote by mail system. Republicans also dominate in Montana and Arizona, where 70% of voters automatically are mailed their ballots as “permanent absentee” voters. Nebraska and North Dakota, also Republican-dominated states, have also expanded the use of vote at home options in a number of counties. While Oregon and Washington, the first two states where VAH initially took hold, are today more “blue than red,” both states have elected Secretaries of State who are Republicans – and big fans of this system.

12)  Can someone create a fake ballot?

No, envelopes incorporate security measures like personalize barcodes that ensure that only one ballot is cast per person. In addition, ballots are printed on specific ballot stock. Every ballot is inspected at the time of separating it from the envelope to ensure the ballot is part of the election being conducted.

Contact TCDelivers.com for more information on voter related mailing projects.

What Our Customers Are Saying

  • Partnering with TC Delivers has been one of the best choices we made. We have worked with them for a number of years and it has always been a great experience. I know I can rely on them to give us the best service possible. The team at TC is top notch and I know the future will only bring better things. Our salesperson makes sure to keep us up to date with any mailing solutions we need.

    Lettershop/Mailing

  • We have used TC Delivers as our presort service for the past five years. Although our output volumes have significantly increased during this time, their knowledgeable staff has maintained the same high levels of quality, efficiency, and care with our mail. I look forward to our continued business together and highly recommend TC Delivers for anyone looking for a professional, reliable, and friendly presort service.

    Insurance Industry

  • Great communication & collaboration while working with this vendor.

    State/City/County Government

  • Very professional, great company to work with.

    State/City/County Government

  • TC Delivers has been a great partner to work with. They helped create an outstanding team environment that helps us achieve our mailing/processing goals and demands whenever a new challenge arises.

    Lettershop/Mailing

  • TC Delivers has done a great job growing along with our company, keeping up with the increased business and higher monthly mailing volumes associated with that growth. Our salesperson is always on top of quotes for projects, helps keep us on point for our escrow balances, and her expertise has helped to find cost savings for our company. The Senior Data Processing Technician does an incredible job with all the day to day processing, as it runs seamless. His attention to detail helps to account for the accuracy he displays on all the Special Mailing projects, as well as the new projects that he has to implement that are thrown his way. TC Delivers is a top notch vendor to utilize when looking for savings and accuracy on all your mail solutions.

    Financial Services Organization

  • Our company has been working with TC Delivers for the last 7 years and have always been completely satisfied with their performance. They are customer service oriented and always meeting the time frames we have for sensitive jobs.

    Furniture Chain

  • When our company first opened an office in Florida in 2012, we used TC to ship all of our mail for us. In 2014 our corporate office decided that we should be unified with all of our offices throughout the country so they moved us to another presort facility. We had many problems with that other facility (mailings not reaching their destination in a timely fashion, etc).
    At the beginning of the year we switched back to TC and we could not be happier. We have not had customer complaints about mail not getting somewhere on time. Our salesperson is very helpful and is always willing to answer any questions we may have. We are very glad we are back with TC and will recommend them to anyone!

    HOA Management

  • I’ve been extremely satisfied with TC Delivers customer support, professionalism, and quality of work. I have thrown many different projects at TC Delivers and they always comes through for us. My favorite part of dealing with them is they never reply to a request with “NO we can’t do that”, they always start out with “Let’s see what we need to do to take care of that for you” and that is “CUSTOMER SERVICE”. Our everyday mailings, proof of mail, fulfillment and presort is always taken care of very professionally, their pick-up drivers are on time and courteous.

    Insurance Industry

  • We have solely used TC Delivers mailing services for 2 years. Our account managers work diligently to not only meet, but exceed our expectations. Any questions and new efforts are quickly answered and assisted in planning. It’s so refreshing to do business with an affordable and professional family-owned and operated company.

    Direct Mail Catalog Provider

  • Our company goes to TC Delivers for all of our printing needs. They always respond quickly to our requests for quotes and get the product out to us in a very timely manner. We use them for mailers, informational cards and specialized projects as well. Their prompt service and outstanding customer service is what keeps us coming back!

    State/City/County Government

  • We have been with TC Delivers for many years and we have been very pleased with their service for us. TC has friendly staff and drivers, willing to be of help even when we need extra services like trays & sleeves. Their pricing is very competitive and they are willing to work with us on large projects as well as small. We will be using them in the future and would highly recommend their services.

    International Non-Profit

  • Working with TC Delivers has truly been a great all around experience. They accommodate our schedule changes, and the drivers always provide quality customer service. We appreciate our relationship with TC Delivers, and look forward to a continued partnership.

    Recycling Industry

  • TC was easy to do business with and delivered the campaign that we needed several times.

    Healthcare Provider

  • I have had the pleasure of working with TC Delivers for the past 12 years. We have produced a number of projects together- both large and small, and a number of ongoing ones. During this time, the service has been outstanding and it is their attention to detail that really shines. Once I turn it over to TC Delivers, I no longer have to worry about it. And that more than anything says more about working with them- it’s nice to have a partner who walks the walk. I would whole-heartedly recommend TC Delivers for pretty much any direct mail and fulfillment project that you would have. It’s worry free!

    National Franchise Owner

  • TC Delivers has delivered consistent quality service to us for over five years. Their prompt, professional and reliable customer service is what sets them apart, saving us time and money without any headaches.

    Logistics Industry

  • The staff over at TC Delivers helps our daily mailings fulfill with ease. They are always eager to help, and wonderful to work with.

    Credit Union