Claim: Mail-in ballots have significant voter security issues and none of them should not be counted as they could be fraudulent.

Despite claims about rampant voter fraud, mail-in voting has significant safeguards, including verifying signatures individually, to prevent fraud - in fact, an independent analysis found only 0.0025% of possible voter fraud in over 14 million ballots in states with universal mail-in voting.

After the 2020 election, several Twitter accounts, commenters, and other sites claimed mail-in ballots were a significant source of voter fraud, leading to legislation attempting to restrict mail-in voting.

Examples of absentee/mail-in ballot fraud include:

To vote more than once
Attempting to vote using the name of another person
Attempting to vote while being knowingly ineligible to do so

However, there is no significant evidence that voter fraud exists, especially through mail-in voting. An analysis by the Washington Post and the nonprofit Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) of elections in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, three states with universal mail elections, found only 372 possible cases of voter fraud out of 14.6 million votes or about 0.0025% of all ballots cast.

Election officials have reiterated that mail-in votes have extensive security measures to ensure against fraud or tampering. Washington’s former Secretary of State Kim Wyman mentions most states require identification, such as a state ID, that are then verified against a government database.

Other safeguards include:

The ERIC system and regular checks against the DMV, death, and other records flag any voter registration entries that need updating.
Federal law requires states conduct basic voter list maintenance.
Ballot return envelopes require the voter’s signature and a unique bar code linked to the voter’s record - the bar code is scanned upon the ballot’s return, ensuring voters cannot vote again.
Election workers are trained in signature verification to ensure ballot signatures match those on voters’ records.

These safeguards help prevent ballot tampering and voting fraud, keeping mail-in ballot fraud low and detecting discrepancies when they do occur. The claim that mail-in ballots have significant security issues is false.

Vote-by-mail procedures vary by state. For more information on voting by mail, visit vote.org or on voting laws in your area.