The use of mail-in voting has brought embarrassment to our national election tallying process

Elon Musk is capable of landing a rocket booster back at the launch tower only seven minutes after takeoff, yet swing states struggle with timely vote counting.

Vote counting, unlike recovering a rocket booster, is a simple task that doesn’t require advanced engineering. Throughout history, we’ve managed to do it swiftly and accurately, but at this critical moment when Donald Trump questions unfavorable results and trust in institutions is low, we’ve hindered our ability to complete this task efficiently in key swing states.

We no longer experience Election Night; instead, it has turned into Election Days. In 2020, the general election held on Tuesday, Nov. 3, was not called by most media organizations until Saturday, Nov. 7, causing national embarrassment, uncertainty, and distrust.

The culprit behind these unnecessary delays is the handling of early voting, especially in swing states, where the process is hindered by bureaucratic ineptitude that could easily be rectified.

Only in government can a process completed well in advance end up delaying everything due to avoidable bureaucratic issues. Pennsylvania, for example, adopted no-excuse mail voting in 2019 without making the necessary changes to expedite the counting of these ballots.

The Pennsylvania authorities restrict processing early and absentee votes until 7 a.m. on Election Day, creating inefficiencies that could have been averted by allowing pre-canvassing, a common practice in most states.

Pre-canvassing involves several steps, including validating signed and dated envelopes and unfolding the ballots. Most states perform this work before Election Day, but Pennsylvania’s partisan deadlock has prevented a rational approach to this crucial task.

While some Republicans are concerned about potential voter fraud, there is no evidence to support these fears, as pre-canvassing does not involve tabulating votes. The delays in key swing states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Arizona compromise the integrity of the election process.

States like Florida provide a model of efficient early vote processing and rapid tabulating, avoiding the delays seen in states like California where ballots can arrive after the election and prolong the counting process.

Eliminating these intolerable delays in the vote count is crucial for maintaining trust in the electoral process and ensuring timely results. It’s time for states to prioritize expeditious and reliable election outcomes over bureaucratic inefficiencies that hinder the democratic process.

It’s almost comical to think that Elon Musk may send a rocket to Mars before states streamline their voting processes, but with Musk’s timeline for such endeavors, it may very well become a reality.

Twitter: @RichLowry