To the Editor:
The story of the Trojan horse is well known even today thanks to the popularity of Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom.
It came to mind upon receiving a generous offer to register for mail-in voting from the Center for Voter Information. I began to wonder why this official looking document was sent to me, since I did not request it. It included an official NJ “Application For Vote by Mail Ballot” all nicely filled out with my name and address. I just had to choose whether I wanted this for all future elections or just one in particular and provide a signature with a little more personal info. Even a postage paid, pre-addressed envelope was provided.
Delving a bit deeper into this mysterious benefactor, it became clear that this group is registered as a 501-c which is a non-profit group with limited lobbying abilities that cannot actively promote particular political parties or candidates. Many groups, however, refine their activities to fit the legal requirements of this designation, while still promoting political ends in subtle ways. There is a strong possibility that this has been mailed to every NJ voter.
This is happening in other states as well. NJ is especially vulnerable to mail in voting problems, since it has no ID requirement other than a signature match, which is done either on a sliding scale by machine or by an individual. The emergency use of it during the Covid lockdown revealed some of its weaknesses. Several states have tried to simplify and strengthen the integrity of mail-in voting by supplying each voter an ID number or even using the last 4 digits of the Social Security number.
So what can we make of this “gift” sent into our homes? By expanding a method of voting that weakens the integrity of the individual vote, we may be undermining our own representation. Is weakening the integrity of the vote a partisan act? Who could possibly be for less fair elections?
Luann Byrne
Byram