Dear Editor:

Let’s presume mail-in voting continues to be judged by most responsible people to be overwhelmingly fraud-free. It is bound to increase in the future as voters experience its convenience. Add to this all the new young people entering the mix of voters who are not married to the convention of going to a polling place to vote in-person. Voters will gravitate to the most convenient method.

There would be no standing in long lines (and getting longer, as the number of polling places nationwide are reduced, suppressing the vote.) No shivering in cold rain or snow, or high heat in the south and west. Or in the dark in Indiana during earliest and latest voting hours. There will be no worry about not being able to leave an hourly job in time to vote during shortened hours, or being out of town at college, or for work or vacation. No worry about having the flu on Election Day or breaking a leg and not being able to drive to vote. Worse yet, having no car or access to public transportation. Where is there a downside?

It will mean a surge in voter participation in our representative democracy, of all political persuasions. Who will it favor? Is President Trump correct with his prediction that the United States will never elect another Republican president or other offices? If so, why? Which political party or parties does the current inconvenience and trends of voter suppression most disadvantaged?

Allan Kauffman
Goshen