3 Reasons Why Vote-by-Mail is Here to Stay (And What Florida Gets Right)

Mail voting might feel a little bit like the “new kid on the block” in American politics, but it’s actually been around since the 1860s, when Union soldiers mailed their ballots home from the battlefield. Fast-forward 160 years, and the method has expanded to serve registered voters in military families, seniors, rural voters, and everyday citizens across the country.

From its Civil War roots to its modern-day convenience, mail voting is a permanent fixture of our democracy.

Here's a deep dive into why it's not going anywhere, and how states are making it more secure and efficient than ever.

1. The Constitution Gives States the Green Light

The Constitution leaves election laws to the states. Article I, Section 4 is crystal clear:

“The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof.”

Translation? It’s the state legislatures, not federal or state executives, who decide how ballots are cast and counted. Legal experts point out that even if a president (or a governor) tried to eliminate mail voting with an executive order, it would be blocked in court almost instantly.

In other words: it’s not going anywhere.

2. It’s the Ultimate Time-Saver

If any state knows the importance of fast, clear election results, it’s Florida. (Yes, the hanging chads of 2000 are still seared into the nation’s memory.)

Since then, Florida has built one of the most efficient mail-voting systems in the country. Unlike many states that wait until Election Day to begin processing ballots, Florida allows supervisors to start verifying and prepping mail ballots up to 22 days before the election.

The payoff? Speed and confidence.

In 2020, 4.8 million Floridians voted by mail, and nearly all those vote by mail ballots were reported by 9 p.m. on election night.

In 2024, Florida voters returned 3,022,516 mail ballots and another 5,363,013 early votes. That’s over 8.3 million ballots counted quickly and transparently.

Governor Ron DeSantis noted after 2020:

“Florida was transparent, we were efficient, and we counted 11 million votes by midnight.”

The takeaway: mail voting isn’t inherently slow or uncertain. A state with a large, diverse population—and one that today leans heavily Republican—has shown that mail voting can be both secure and efficient at scale. More states might consider the Florida model.

3. Security is Next-Level (And Always Improving)

Critics like to raise concerns about security, but the data is overwhelming: voter fraud is vanishingly rare. Long-term studies in Arizona and Pennsylvania put fraud rates around 0.00008%. Even impersonation cases run between 0.0003% and 0.0025%.

As the Brennan Center colorfully put it: you’re more likely to be struck by lightning than commit voter impersonation.

And the safeguards keep getting stronger. Ballot-tracking tools, signature verification, and transparent pre-processing mean the system is more secure and efficient with every election cycle.

Bottom Line

Mail voting was never designed to be partisan. States came up with the idea so Americans could participate in elections, no matter where they lived or what their circumstances. Eliminating it nationwide would require a massive, state-by-state overhaul that simply isn’t realistic. Better planning, better technology, and better infrastructure, like Florida proved, provide the better approach.

So, the next time you hear someone say vote-by-mail is a "disaster," you can tell them the facts. It's a constitutional right, a tool for accessibility, and a secure part of our electoral system that's only getting better.

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