Election 2026 #4
1Do You Vote By Mail?
2If your answer to the the question posed by the above header is, “Yes”, you have a lot of company. Mail-n voting has tripled over over the past 20 years. It seems likely that some of the increase is the result of small increases in longevity in the United States.[1]
The COVID-19 pandemic created a dramatic increase in the use … and popularity … of mail-in voting. Use of the COVID vaccines did not receive emergency authorization until December 2020. To protect public health, many states began to provide unrestricted voting by mail{2] for the 2020 election.
In 2024, 37 states have unrestricted mail-in voting. The remaining 13 have restricted mail-in voting. Only 3 had restricted mail-in voting and no early in-person voting. In those states, if you don’t have a state-approved reason for needing to vote by mail (e.g., military, physical disability, etc.), you are required to vote at the polls on election day,
Who Decides the When, Where, and How?
3As I pointed out in my Election 2026 #3, Article I, Section 4, Clause 1 of the Constitution of the United States says:
The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.[3]
It does not say:
The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress by Law or the President by Executive Order may at any time make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.
Nevertheless, President Trump issued Executive Order 14399 entitled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections” on March 31, 2026.
Last Paragraph
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25Feel free to share this article … through social media, re-post on your own website (blog), e-mail, word-of-mouth, pony express, carrier pigeon, or any other medium.
If you have any comments … in agreement or opposition … or any additional ideas, I encourage you to leave a reply in the comments section at the end of this article.
If you choose to subscribe to this website, the only “junk mail” you will receive is a note whenever I post a new article. I do not have any advertisers. I want to be free to express “my less than humble opinion” whenever and however I choose.
[ Go to Comments Section ]
[ Go to Main Menu ]
Notes
[1]
Even President Trump votes by mail. As we shall see, taking advantage of mail-in voting is a bit hypocritical on his part.
[2]
The primary difference between restricted and unrestricted mail-in voting centers on who is permitted to use a mail ballot.
- Unrestricted mail-in voting allows any eligible, registered voter to request and cast a ballot by mail without providing a reason. In some jurisdictions, election officials automatically mail ballots to all registered voters by default.
- Restricted mail-in voting limits mail-in ballots to voters who meet strict eligibility criteria. Voters typically must provide a state-approved reason—such as an illness, physical disability, military deployment, or documented travel out of the area on Election Day—to legally qualify for a mail ballot.
(For what it’s worth, the above definition is a direct copy of Google AI’s response to my question, “What is the difference between restricted and unrestricted mail-in voting?” Artificial Intelligence isn’t all bad. Like atomic energy, it requires regulation defining limits and use. As for the data centers needed for AI (and other processer-hungry applications. If we can launch a telescope into the Sun-Earth Lagrange point, we can launch a series of inter-connected data centers into high, uncrowded orbits, The can be powered by solar energy not restricted by an atmosphere ,,, and, if they get too warm, we can just open a window. 😉)
[3]
The Framers of the Constitution left it to the State Legislatures to select their two Senators. The 17th Amendment changed the method selecting Senators to a popular vote by the state’s citizens.
(Note: the word “chusing” is not a typo. That’s the 18th Century spelling of the word “choosing”.)
[4]
##### TEXT #####
[5]
##### TEXT #####
[6]
##### TEXT #####
[7]
##### TEXT #####
[8]
##### TEXT #####
[9]
##### TEXT #####
[10]
##### TEXT #####
[11]
##### TEXT #####
[12]
##### TEXT #####
[13]
##### TEXT #####
[14]
##### TEXT #####
[15]
##### TEXT #####
[16]
##### TEXT #####
[17]
##### TEXT #####
[18]
##### TEXT #####
[19]
##### TEXT #####
[20]
##### TEXT #####
[21]
##### TEXT #####
[22]
##### TEXT #####
[23]
##### TEXT #####
[24]
##### TEXT #####
[25]
##### TEXT #####
