“It’s possible but unlikely that states such as Arizona, which already have a large percentage of voters on a list to automatically receive a ballot, could expand the practice, said Paul Gronke, a political science professor at Reed College and director of the Early Voting Information Center.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-09/it-s-too-late-to-expand-mail-in-voting-as-trump-steps-up-attacks

“Paul Gronke, director of the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College in Oregon, said the counterfeit ballot theory was from ‘the world of fantasy.’”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-15/barr-floats-foreign-mail-vote-fraud-that-experts-call-impossible

Professor Paul Gronke, director of the Early Voting Information Center (EVIC) at Reed College, quipped in the New York Times:

“Everyone’s focusing on the rate of voting by mail, which is going to easily double what it was in 2016 — somewhere north of 80 million ballots…But people aren’t paying attention to what might happen if there’s a spike in the pandemic or a shortage of poll workers and there’s a last-minute reduction in in-person voting.”

Gronke’s comments on the nationwide conversation on voting amidst the COVID-19 pandemic pivots our thinking towards issues of capacity. Should Local Election Officials become unable to work due to COVID-19, already stressed election districts could experience unprecedented difficulty conducting the election.

Imaginative solutions backed by a flock of volunteers will be necessary to ensure a safe and successful election this November.

Read the full story here.