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Mail-In Balloting Being Considered Across The Nation, But Colorado Already Has It Figured Out

DENVER (CBS4) - Mail-in and absentee balloting has been around a long time.

"Military voters in the Civil War started to vote this way to ensure they could vote," said Amber McReynolds, who was a Denver election official for 12 years before becoming the CEO of the National Vote at Home Institute.

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(credit: CBS)

McReynolds was Director of Elections in May 2013 when the law was changed in Colorado so that every registered voter in the state received a mail-in ballot, without first having to request one.

"That has made Colorado one of the best places to vote, one of the most secure states to vote in, and also increased our turnout over time," she said.

In 2018, Colorado was second only to Minnesota in voter turnout.

As it spreads out across the country, there is understandable concern over possible voter and election fraud.

A recent RealClear Politics article claimed that between 2012 and 2018, 28.3 million mail-in ballots remain unaccounted for. McReynolds took to RealClear Politics with a response of her own.

In her interview with CBS4, McReynolds pointed to protections like Colorado's ballot tracking system which allows you to electronically follow your ballot through the mail just like a package as well as the signature verification system.

"Every single ballot envelope, the signature on those envelopes gets compared to the signature record. And that's where we can we can prevent bad actors from trying to take someone else's ballot," she said.

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(credit: CBS)

She argues that not only does mail-in balloting increase voter turnout and voter/election security, but research shows it creates a more informed voter.

"Voters that get their ballots at home, have that extra time to research issues, get more informed, and then they go further down the ballot," she said and referenced this study and this study.

"If we can make sure that voters have the opportunity to get their ballots in, and the rules are fair for everyone, then that's what we should always be striving for and what our goal should be," she said.

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