Will Vote-by-Mail (or any collective action) Inevitably Be a Disaster?

(c) by Mark Dempsey

In California's 2018 election 65% of the ballots were vote-by-mail. Some critics believe the last 35% and/or increased turnout will break the system in 2020, among them an editorial writer who calls himself "the Old Salt." He recounted his experience as a programmer for local governments, concluding that "A Mass mailing to everyone on the voter rolls is a disaster. IT WILL DESTROY OUR VOTING SYSTEM."

This surprised me. Mail-in ballots for recent elections have always arrived in my mailbox promptly, and the County remains punctual in sending summons for jury duty, and its property tax bills. Yet that last 35% will somehow break the system! Really?

In general, public policy critics like the Old Salt are eager to assert any government or collective action is bound to fail. In advising futility, they convince public policy makers to decrease funding for some public service, then lobby to privatize it in response to the complaints about its under-funded incompetence. 

So the Old Salt's dire, if exaggerated, predictions are part of the movement to discredit government, or  collective action generally. Unfortunately, there are systemic problems only collective action can address--like the current COVID-19 pandemic. Responding to such critics, and to "save money," the current administration fired the CDC's pandemic team. This is why the U.S. has 20% of the world's COVID-19 cases, even though it only has 5% of the world's population.

These tactics come from a very old playbook. Mussolini and Margaret Thatcher privatized Italian and British railways, and in their private incarnations, service declined while ticket prices rose. The critics' point is to turn all those government-funded non-profit services into private, profitable toll booths. The recent attacks on the post office are another example. 

Toll booths impoverish (and immiserate) the population, and have been doing so successfully for generations now. The Federal Reserve reports that 40% of U.S. population cannot handle a $400 emergency without selling something or borrowing. So discarding intelligent public policy making has real consequences.

It may be heresy to observe, but unregulated capitalism and privatization have produced obvious failures.  The deregulated financial sector's sub-prime/derivatives meltdown of 2007 was arguably the largest theft in human history. In its wake, U.S. net worth declined 40%. Yet privatizing and cutting more regulations was supposed fix that. So heck, let's privatize the voting system!

Despite dire predictions collective action can succeed. SMUD, our community-owned utility has rates 30% cheaper than privately-owned PG&E, and, unlike PG&E, SMUD executives aren't consulting criminal attorneys in case they faced negligent homicide charges for skimping on maintenance. SMUD is cheaper and better managed!

But none of that matters! Despite a history of success with mailed ballots, Old Salt and his crowd must complain! Privatizing and deregulating is all that will save us! Any collective action is doomed to failure!

The Old Salt reminds me of the hypnotist at the fair putting some volunteers in a trance. What are we going to believe, the hypnotist, or our lyin' eyes? Why the hypnotist, of course! 

Hey, I wonder whether the Old Salt's Social Security check arrived yet.

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The author served nearly a decade on a Sacramento County Community Planning Advisory Council, and believes there are plenty of faults with County government--especially when it comes to land use planning--but the vote-by-mail system isn't nearly as bad as the Old Salt paints it. Recrimination leading to privatization is a far bigger problem.