Absentee voting is here to stay

The pandemic has caused us to adapt in many ways. Sometimes for the better. Yesterday’s election saw a record number of people cast their ballots via absentee ballot or early in-person voting. Perhaps they didn’t want to stand in a line with lots of other people, maybe it was the high-profile nature of the election or maybe it is just easier to vote from home. Either way, more people took part in the democratic process and made sure their voice was heard. That is a good thing for our democracy. Absentee balloting helps the elderly for whom transportation may be an issue, and those who are just busy. It reduces lines on election day. It has gotten easier to vote other than on election day. In Wisconsin, you no longer need to have a reason for voting absentee, and you can request absentee ballots for three successive elections. They mail you a ballot in plenty of time, you fill it out at your convenience and either drop it in the mail or in a municipal drop box. But if voting early is so popular, they should change some of the rules. Let  Wisconsin’s municipal clerks start counting absentee ballots before election day, as a number of states do. And eliminate the requirement for a witness signature on the return envelope. Wisconsin is one of a few states with that requirement. The pandemic may or not be here with the next election, but it seems absentee and early voting are here to stay.