The US should be able to open the polls by election day and vote by mail should only be allowed to those who can't physically vote in person. If in fact Covid 19 is still an issue the government has ample time too prepare for a mail in alternative to prevent any possibility of voter fraud. There's no excuse not to. States should require voters to register prior to Election Day, with sufficient time to verify identity, residence, and citizenship status. Voter registration lists are notoriously inaccurate and out of date, with multiple registrations by the same individual. Voters should be required to request an absentee ballot with a signed form that can be authenticated. States should require a photocopy of an ID or the serial number of a driver’s license or state ID card from all absentee voters. If states insist on contacting all registered voters, active (not inactive) voters should be sent an absentee ballot request form by First Class mail, not an absentee ballot, which reduces the opportunity for an unauthorized person to complete an unsolicited ballot. By sending the request via First Class mail, election officials will receive notice from the U.S. Postal Service if the voter is no longer at his registered address, providing valuable information for the accuracy of the registration list. On Election Day: Only absentee ballots officially postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service by the end of election day should be accepted. Simply requiring a signature by the end of Election Day provides no way for officials to verify that the ballot was actually completed before polls closed and preliminary results were being reported. When processing returned absentee ballots, states must have strong authentication standards, including comparing signatures on ballot envelopes with voter registration signatures. Absentee ballots should not be processed and tabulated until the end of election day; starting that process early risks leaks that could deter individuals from voting or provide information to candidates or vote harvesters that allows them to manipulate close races after the polls have closed. Election officials must: Work with local U.S. Postal Service authorities to ensure integrity in the mail system and prevent delayed delivery of ballots. Coordinate with federal, state, and local prosecutors to ensure that law enforcement is ready to move quickly to enforce federal and state laws against intimidation of voters, as well as other election crimes. The current crisis makes us keenly aware that the current system for mail in voting is inadequate and must be amended in order to ensure that the election is not tainted with fraud of any sort.
The EXACT same safety checks used in voting in person to voting by mail are in effect here in Pa. When one votes in person in Pa. the voter must sign a sign in sheet in the check in process the poll worker makes a visual comparison of your signature with the one they have on file from when you registered to vote. When you vote by mail you fill out your ballot put it in an official BALLOT ENVELOPE which then goes into the preaddressed county seat voting address as well as a special required signature block on the back side of the envelope which the voter must sign for comparison purposes. For those voters who are physically handicapped and cannot fill out their own ballot there is a place for a PROXY to sign and identify themselves.
rules are the same in Florida and I would also like to point out that the mail in ballot can only be sent to the address on record to change the address one must re register
