Millions of people are planning to vote by mail in this election, and for most, it will be the first time. COVID-19 has made voting by mail more popular than ever because it’s the safest way for many to cast a ballot. But some voters still have questions about the safety and security of this method, and whether their mail-in ballot will be counted. Contradictory messages from President Trump add to the confusion — even though the president, and many of his cabinet members, vote by mail themselves. 

All voters are able to make an informed decision on how to cast a ballot — and that means cutting through the confusion to debunk common misperceptions about vote by mail.

FACT: Mail-in ballots are secure

MYTH: Mail-in ballots are more likely to be lost or not counted

Fears of lost or uncounted ballots are not unfounded. In communities of color, this skepticism is rooted in the long history of voter suppression targeting people of color. In the South, for example, various Jim Crow voter restrictions blocked the Black vote for decades. Other communities of color, such as Indigenous people, have also experienced systemic disenfranchisement even after nominally getting the right to vote. 

Other fears may be rooted in memories of the messy, contested presidential election of 2000, which led to several recounts that often centered on the question of which ballots counted, and which did not. But the vast majority of ballots that were tossed out were cast in person.

The truth is, casting a ballot by mail is a secure way to vote. The USPS delivers each ballot to the voter securely, and all states have a method for tracking who receives a mail-in ballot. In many states, the mail-in ballot envelope is stamped with a barcode to match each individual voter. Mail-in ballots leave a paper trail and the process of counting them can be audited to ensure checks and balances. 

Vote by mail also helps to advance equal access to the ballot among communities of color, and the more people vote by mail, the more efficiency we’ll see at the polls for those who choose to vote in person.

FACT: Voting by mail allows for more flexibility on timing for voters with limited schedules

MYTH: Voting by mail takes more time than voting in person

Some voters may not be able to take off enough time from work to get to the polls on Election Day. Others may have children or other obligations that make it difficult to make time to vote. Voting in person can come with additional delays if there are long lines, broken machines, or changes to protocol due to COVID-19. 

Casting a mail-in ballot, however, takes about as long as putting an envelope in the mail. It allows people to vote on their own time, so that nobody has to sacrifice a paycheck or other obligations to vote on Election Day. 

Voter education initiatives across the country are teaching voters how easy and efficient it can be to vote by mail. Visit the ACLU’s Let People Vote tool or other educational platforms to find what your state requires, and to learn how to request a ballot, track your ballot, and mail your ballot early to meet deadlines. 

FACT: Vote by mail makes it easier to cast an informed vote

MYTH: Vote by mail is confusing for voters

Ballots can include new candidates and policies, and not all voters know about them ahead of time. People who vote by mail have an advantage when it comes to casting an informed vote, because they are able to research what’s on their ballot after receiving it. Voters can look up unfamiliar names and policies, research candidates’ records, and gather any other information they need to make sure they are fully informed before marking their ballot. On the other hand, people who vote in person must do all their research before they get to the polls, because they won’t get the chance once it’s their turn in the voting booth. 

Look up your candidates’ voting records using the ACLU’s candidate scorecard.

FACT: Cases of voter fraud are even rarer in absentee ballots

MYTH: Vote by mail will increase the risk of voter fraud

President Trump and other politicians have attempted to link vote by mail with unfounded claims of voter fraud in an effort to discourage or even prohibit people from voting by mail. In reality, voter fraud is almost nonexistent, and it’s even less likely to occur through voting by mail. Out of over 3.1 million ballots cast in 2018, only 0.004 percent were recorded as suspected cases of voter fraud. Reminder: You can’t hack paper.

Whether you decide to vote differently this year or the same way you always vote, this Election Day is sure to be unlike any other. It’s already making history as COVID-19 has spurred states across the country to expand access to the ballot to allow millions of people to vote by mail for the first time. And those who choose to vote in person are bound to run into new protocols in response to COVID-19. With so many parts of this tradition changing, it’s all the more important that voters prepare themselves and plan ahead. 

Visit the Let People Vote voter guide to find out your options for casting a ballot in your state, as well as state requirements to register, apply, and cast a vote. 

We, your Black friends, family, and colleagues, are not okay. A Black woman, asleep in her bed, was murdered in cold blood and the system didn’t just find her killers innocent — they found their crime, the crime of ending the life of a Black woman, unworthy of even being charged.

We work alongside you at the American Civil Liberties Union, fighting for a country that’s never loved us and forced to fight within a system built to harm and kill us. A legal system that says explicitly that Black lives do not matter. A system that calls for more accountability for putting bullets into drywall than into a Black woman.

I ask you to imagine how the system would have responded if these police had murdered a white woman EMT (during a global pandemic) in her sleep. Does anyone think it would have taken six months to convene the grand jury? Does anyone think there wouldn’t even be a trial? Does anyone think that this country reacts and punishes the harm done to Black women with even a semblance of the outrage and protection we reserve for other communities?

If you are not Black and you’re asking yourself, “How can I help my Black friends, family members, and colleagues?”, here is a non-exhaustive list of what you can do today:

1. Offer your Black staff and colleagues the opportunity to take time off and help redistribute their workload. Do not just send a note that says, “It’s okay if you need to take some time.” Send a note that says, “I want to support you in taking time off. What can I take off your plate? What meetings can I attend in your place? How can I make that happen?”

2. Be mindful of when/how you are processing your feelings. If you’re not Black, this is the time to be especially mindful of how, when, and with whom you are processing your grief, pain, and anger. Do not put additional emotional labor on your Black friends and colleagues. 

3. Do acknowledge the impact of this tragedy. Carve out space in agendas you create to address the trauma and be clear not to move on with “business as usual” without holding that space. 

4. Call each other in and call each other forward. Be in solidarity by spending your political capital on racial justice at work and find a way to do it without virtue signaling or centering yourself. Most of your allyship should take place “backstage,” out of the spotlight.

Continue educating yourself, amplifying Black voices, donating to Black leadership causes, protesting and demanding justice for Black lives. Those actions matter. At the very same time, support and uplift Black people — on your teams, in our organization, and in your life. For every public, external action you take for racial justice, I invite you to take an action inside our walls with that same spirit.

To my Black colleagues: I know you’re not okay. I’m not okay either. We have been fighting for justice every day for 400 years and today we are grieving, we are enraged, and we are exhausted. I see you, I’m with you, I am you. We are not alone in our grief, not abandoned in our anger, not uncared for in our exhaustion. We are in this with each other, with the legacies of our ancestors and the vision of our youth. With the wisdom of our elders and the unwavering guidance of our leaders.