Vote By Mail Poll: IL Voters Nervous Ballots Won't Be Received

ILLINOIS — With a record number of Americans predicted to cast votes in the Nov. 3 election, mail-in ballots have become an increasingly popular option in the age of the coronavirus. While an overwhelming majority of nearly 6,000 readers who responded to our Illinois Patch survey plan to vote, many are wary about voting by mail.

Recent operational changes within the U.S. Postal Service have led to reports of widespread mail delays, elimination of overtime for postal workers, carriers being instructed to leave mail behind and the decommissioning of mail sorting machines. These changes have also increased anxiety for many, and our survey reflected that.

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While it is estimated that about 58 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the 2016 presidential election, among Illinois Patch readers who responded to our poll, an overwhelming 99.5 percent plan to vote this time around.

Despite the number of coronavirus cases in Illinois increasing at alarming rates once again, a slight majority of readers — 51.2 percent — said they do not plan to vote by mail. The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot in Illinois is Oct. 29.

Overall, regardless of which way they plan to vote, a slight plurality of readers in our survey (38.3 percent) are very confident their vote will be tabulated by election night on Nov. 3. About 35 percent are somewhat confident, followed by 26 percent who are not confident at all.

When asked, "Are you concerned your mail-in vote will not be received or properly counted?" nearly 68 percent answered yes. Earlier this week, throughout the state, election officials announced ballot drop boxes will be installed to circumvent any potential issues with voting by mail through the U.S. Postal Service.

With the reported operational changes at the U.S. Postal Service that began when Louis DeJoy took over as postmaster general in June, a slight majority of readers who took our poll — 50.4 percent — said their mail delivery hasn't slowed down in recent months.

Throughout his re-election campaign, President Donald Trump has stated he believes voting by mail will result in fraudulent activity. A slight majority of readers, 50.1 percent, think this will be the case for the upcoming election.

Finally, we asked, "What are your overall thoughts on voting by mail?" We received a wide variety of replies. Here are some of the more than 4,000 answers we got back:

• "Chicago has a history full of political corruption, and I believe common sense would dictate that the more people handling collecting sorting stacking transporting, delivering, opening and counting the ballots the greater chance of something going wrong."
• "I believe measures like the mail-in ballot drop boxes being installed will help make sure your ballot gets into the right hands. However, once you vote, fraudulent activity or improper counting is out of your control and it can happen no matter how you choose to vote. It is the responsibility of everyday citizens to report voter fraud if they see it occurring and also the responsibility of those handling ballots that they are counted correctly for a fair election to occur."
• "If you are over 60 years old and have pre-existing conditions related to COVID-19, I believe voter should participate in mail-in ballot or drop box ballot."
• "I always vote, but this year’s presidential election is so important for this country’s future. I would not participate in mail-in voting if I didn’t have confidence in it. I’m not sure if I would feel the same if I lived in a different state that was Trump friendly. I think that the biggest threat to the success of this election is our current president."
• "I send letters and packages with the USPS all the time and everything arrives safely and quickly no matter the destination. That is especially true during the holidays when the USPS is exponentially busier. They will have no problem handling the number of mail-in ballots, which is much less than Christmas cards."
• "If a person doesn't care enough about this country to go to the polls to vote (unless he/she is incapacitated), that person shouldn't be voting. Wholesale voting by mail opens the door to mammoth fraud. Honest voters votes will be nullified."
• "Can't take the chance to wait in lines for hours with many people, and may be less voting places because less workers (usually seniors) Not sure how affected the post office really is but Trump wants you to believe it, so I will drive my vote up to Waukegan and hand deliver."
• "The fact that I am a type one diabetic. I don’t want to be around a bunch of people at the polls. I prefer to vote by mail. Only because of the pandemic."
• "Great for absentee ballots, terrible idea for everyone else. If you can go to Walmart you can go vote in person."
• "It can't be last minute, but it’s been done for absentee ballots for a long time. Allow enough time and there shouldn’t be a problem."