Ex-Federal Elections Commission Chair: We Should Discourage Absentee Voting

Former Federal Elections Commission Chair Brad Smith said the United States “should be discouraging absentee voting” and pushing citizens to vote in-person on Election Day.

Smith, a Republican nominated to the FEC by President Bill Clinton, tweeted his concerns about election fraud on Monday while the country is in primary election season.

“I believe that we should have options for absentee and early in-person voting for those who need them. However, voting on election day should be the presumptive norm,” he wrote.

Smith laid out a series of reasons why absentee ballots are more prone to problems. 

While election fraud is rare, he said it is more common with absentee ballots. These types of ballots are also “more likely to be rejected due to voter error,” Smith noted.

Absentee balloting can “opportunities for coercion, intimidation, and influence, and can jeopardize the secret ballot,” he said.

In-person voting supports voters’ feeling of confidence in election results, Smith observed.

He also criticized early voting, which he stated does not increase voter turnout but increases opportunities for misconduct by election officials.

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