Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) called for nationwide mail-in voting in a recent op-ed published in The New York Times.
“In a democracy, no one should be forced to choose between health and the right to vote,” Klobuchar wrote.
As she notes in her column, Klobuchar is the lead sponsor of a bill in the U.S. Senate that would require every state to allow its citizens to vote by mail.
“We are asking Congress to help states ramp this up in a big way, with funding for everything from workers to envelopes to postage,” she continued.
According to the health “experts” Klobuchar has talked with about the COVID-19 pandemic, many Americans “will still be at risk on November 3, the date of the general election.”
“That is why we must reform our election systems, so that sheltering in place can also mean voting in place. And we must do it now, while we still have the time to preserve everyone’s ability to vote in November. What we’re proposing is neither radical nor untried,” she wrote.
The Democratic Party in Klobuchar’s home state of Minnesota, as well as the Democratic secretary of state, have proposed a number of sweeping election changes in response to the pandemic, including the legalization of ballot harvesting and ballot drop-boxes for voters to deliver their ballots.
Since President Donald Trump votes by mail, the whole country should be allowed to do so, Klobuchar argued in her op-ed.
“If you think there ought to be a better way, you’re not alone. I know of one person who, with an election approaching in his newly adopted state, simply requested an absentee ballot from the comfort of his own home – so he could vote safely and easily by mail. His name? Donald Trump. His address? 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. If it’s good enough for him, it’s good enough for all Americans,” she said.
The Minnesota Senator calls it “troubling” that many states still insist on “making it hard to mail in a ballot,” particularly by requiring an excuse to obtain an absentee ballot or by requiring more than one witness.
“Imagine trying to drum up witnesses – much less a notary – in the thick of a public health crisis. We need to do away with the hurdles and the back flips once and for all,” she wrote.
She concluded her article by declaring that the “failure to prepare for this pandemic has cost so much.”
“Lives have been lost. Businesses large and small – representing lifetimes of hard work – now stand boarded up. Yet there were so many signs it was coming. November is coming, too,” said Klobuchar. “And if you want to know what it’s like to vote in a healthy, safe and secure way – from the comfort of your own home – just ask President Trump. He’s been doing it for years.”
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Amy Klobuchar” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0. Background Photo “NYT Op-ed” by NYT.
If she thinks that mail-in voting (which I also support) will mend fences between her and progressives after she knowingly sent an innocent person to jail for somebody else’s crime of murder, that by itself will probably not be good enough. She is not really a progressive, but an Establishment member with Pelosi and Schumer. Progressives like AOC, Abrams, and others will continue to distrust her unless she can some earn their trust.