A Record 75% of Americans Can Vote by Mail in 2020

[dalton99a]

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/08/11/us/politics/vote-by-mail-us-states.html

A Record 75% of Americans Can Vote by Mail in 2020
By Juliette Love, Matt Stevens and Lazaro Gamio
Aug. 11, 2020

About three-quarters of all American voters will be eligible to receive a ballot in the mail for the 2020 election — the most in U.S. history, according to a New York Times analysis. If recent election trends hold and turnout increases, as experts predict, roughly 80 million mail ballots will flood election offices this fall, more than double the number that were returned in 2016.

The rapid and seismic shift in how Americans will vote can be traced to the coronavirus pandemic. Concerns about the potential for virus transmission at polling places have forced many states to make adjustments on the fly that — despite President Trump’s protests — will make mail voting in America more accessible this fall than ever before.

“I have a hard time looking back at history and finding an election where there was this significant of a change to how elections are administered in this short a time period,” said Alex Padilla, the California secretary of state who chairs the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State.

Most of the changes are temporary and have been made administratively by state and local officials who have the power to make adjustments during emergencies like the pandemic.

[SCantiGOP]

1. Somewhat misleading for the states that "require an excuse"

In SC, there are more than a dozen categories that qualify you for an absentee ballot. One is being over 65, so that takes in about one of every eight voters.
Other categories are as vague as "work related conflict," "traveling out of state on election day" or "medical appointment or requirement." There is of course no proof required for any of these, you simply have to check the box. While the courts have ruled that fear of catching the virus is not a valid excuse, "physical disability, injury or illness" is one of the categories. Who's to say that one didn't think their sore knee would prevent them from walking from the parking lot to the poll on election day?
You can make an ethical argument against lying on the form, but there is no legal barrier if you want to check one of the eligible categories.