THOMAS W. ROSS: Keeping voting accessible and elections fair

In the Gettysburg Address, President Abraham Lincoln said: “This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” While these words were spoken 157 years ago during the Civil War, they ring true in our current fight against COVID-19. Today, although it is a war of a different type, our country is suffering, and people are dying.

And so, as in any battle, we must continue to fight against this virus and do all we can to win this war as soon as we can, with as few lives lost as possible. At the same time, we must remember Lincoln’s words and not allow our democracy to “perish from the earth.” We must do everything we can now, so that the election this year is conducted fairly and safely.

In the fight against COVID-19, we have been required to delay, discontinue, or do away with anything non-essential in order to gather as much data as possible about how best to combat it. This data will inform how we change our old way of life for our new normal as quickly as possible.

As we saw last week in Wisconsin, our elections are one of those things that are far from easy to change. Administering fair democratic elections is a time-consuming, planning intensive, complex process, even in the best of times. In a COVID-19 era, it will be a herculean task. Luckily, in North Carolina, we have seven months to learn from other states and prepare accordingly. But we must start now.

As of April 6, 2020, 15 states have already made drastic changes to their primary voting plans by turning to one of two options: postponing the election date or implementing state-wide mail-in voting. Tradeoffs exist for both: the first causes confusion which jeopardizes participation; the second raises major logistical and accessibility concerns. There is no perfect solution.

We do not have the luxury of inaction. Preservation of our democracy depends on our doing everything we can to safeguard the election, no matter the circumstances we might be facing.

North Carolina is no stranger to election controversy. Just 10 months ago, the State Board of Election was investigating ballot-harvesting in the Ninth Congressional District. Months before and after that, we made national news for our extreme partisan gerrymandering.

We also have a history of taking the necessary steps to course correct. After the ballot-harvesting scandal, safeguards were put in place to better secure absentee voting. This past fall, increased transparency and strict rules guided the legislature through a redistricting process that yielded fairer legislative and congressional maps.

As we gear up for the election this fall, North Carolina has a chance to get this right. The legislature convenes later this month and will have the opportunity to pass thoughtful reform that sets our system up for success in November.

During the upcoming session, lawmakers should prioritize addressing the challenges that COVID-19 presents in exercising our most fundamental right—the right to vote. In so doing, they should pass an election reform package that smartly and effectively plans for voting with appropriate social distancing, special voting site design, and increased use of mail-in ballots so that the process is secure, accessible, and fair—so that everyone’s voice is heard.

They should also take this opportunity to institute reforms to make sure every future vote is fairly counted. Any election reform package would be incomplete without a redistricting reform component. The integrity of our elections process is not limited to access to the ballot box alone; voters must be able to cast their vote knowing that the district maps have not been manipulated by one political party or the other, but instead are drawn with transparency and clear rules in place.

So, while these times are uncertain, if North Carolina acts swiftly in passing a comprehensive election reform package, we can be certain about one thing: government of, by and for the people shall not perish on our watch.