Sen. Becca Rausch Defends Mail-In Voting: 'A Tried And True Process For Over 150 Years'

Virus Outreak Mail Voting — In this March 10, 2020, file photo wearing gloves, a King County Election worker collect ballots from a drop box in the Washington State primary, in Seattle. But the 2020 presidential election is creeping ever closer, and there are no signs yet of pandemic abating, nor any word on when Americans on orders to stay home can resume normal life, and so lawmakers are trying to figure how to allow for voting in a world where face-to-face contact causes anxiety at the least, and sickness and death at the most.

Aidan Connelly is a production assistant on Boston Public Radio. A graduate of Emerson College with a B.A in journalism, his work has appeared on WBUR, KCRW, and The Marketplace Morning Report.

August 25, 2020

Updated August 07, 2023

State Sen. Becca Rausch said Tuesday she's advising early voters who still haven’t sent off their mail-in ballots for the state’s primary election to forgo sending them through the mail, in large part because of delays and setbacks within the U.S. Postal Service.

"At this point, we are literally one week away from the primary day. ... If it were me submitting my ballot at this stage of the game, I would take a quick trip over to town hall and drop it off at the ballot box,” Rausch said during an interview on Boston Public Radio.

More Local News

Early voters can find out where to drop off their ballots by contacting their local city or town clerk’s office. For any Massachusetts residents unsure of where to go, a comprehensive list can be found here. Additional information on polling locations and early voting in the Commonwealth can be found here.

Rausch also touched on President Donald Trump's persistent critiques of vote-by-mail, and the questions that he’s raised about the possibility of bad actors using the system to commit voter fraud.

"Voting by mail has been a tried and true process for over 150 years. It dates all the way back to the Civil War, and we’ve had plenty of success with it,” she said, calling the president’s statements "voter suppression, any way you slice it.”

The senator also responded to a range of questions and comments from callers about remote voting, for both the Sept. 1 primary and the November general election.

Aidan Connelly is a production assistant on Boston Public Radio. A graduate of Emerson College with a B.A in journalism, his work has appeared on WBUR, KCRW, and The Marketplace Morning Report.