Have you ever purchased an item that offered a mail-in rebate? Yeah, me too.
To receive your rebate, you usually have to jump through some hoops with sending a UPC code cut off of the box of the item along with filling out a form and including a copy of the receipt as proof of purchase. All that work, and from my experience, I have only ever received about one out of five of the rebates I have submitted for redemption.
Eventually, I forget about them, and simply give up on the idea that rebates are worth my time.
That’s how I feel about the mail-in voting process.
The community in which I reside in Fillmore County recently switched to the mail-in voting process, and the Presidential primary election presented my an opportunity to participate.
There are currently 11 precincts in Fillmore County operating with a mail-in balloting process: Bloomfield Township, City of Canton, Canton Township, City of Fountain, Fountain Township, Newburg Township, City of Ostrander, City of Peterson, Preble Township, Sumner Township and City of Whalan.
My wife and I mailed in our ballots per instructions. We hope we followed the steps correctly. There were quite a number of envelopes, like a Chinese box structure narrative.
And, then we dropped it in the mail.
What if it didn’t make it to the intended destination in time? Speaking from experience, we have mailed something from Preston, Minn., to Rushford, Minn., and it took six weeks. Yes, SIX!
I don’t blame our local USPS staff or drivers. There must have been something involved in the process at the distribution center for this problem to occur.
And, this isn’t the first time this has happened. We’ve had intermittent issues over the years.
So, how can we trust that 100% of all mail-in ballots will arrive in time for an election?
Personally, I like to walk into our local precinct, say hello to the local judges, fill out my ballot, and cast my vote.
However, nobody ever asked for my opinion — or my neighbors.
There hasn’t been a vote about how we should vote.
Maybe I’m being a crybaby about change. But, I actually enjoy the voting process. Going to a place where all of our neighbors, friends and family cast their votes is a real tangible experience.
And, I never received a red “I Voted” sticker, a symbol of our democracy.
Maybe my sticker is stuck in transit with the rest of my forgotten mail-in rebates?
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