Sun Gazette editorial: What sounds like a good election idea really isn't

We’ve always had admiration for Kate Hanley, dating back to her days on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and continuing through current service on the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s board of directors and as secretary of the Fairfax County Electoral Board.

But we sometimes have bones to pick even with those we admire, as is the case here.

In a presentation to the Board of Supervisors, laying out the highs and lows of the 2022 election season and how Fairfax County fared in it, Hanley pressed an idea that we think is . . . well, if we were writing this to an audience shepherds, we’d say it was baaaa-aaaa-aaaa-aaaa-d.

What did she suggest? Hanley proposed that the Board of Supervisors encourage the county’s General Assembly delegation to press for legislation that would further lengthen the time that straggler mail-in ballots were accepted.

Currently, state law provides that all such ballots arriving by the Friday after the election be counted, while any arriving later be discounted. (This year, because of the late election date and the fact that following Friday was Veterans Day, the deadline was extended to the subsequent Monday.)

Hanley thinks it would be a good idea to wait until the Friday 10 days after Election Day to accept ballots. And given the hit-or-miss nature of mail delivery, there’s something to be said in favor of that idea. But noodle it through, and the flaws become apparent.

Let’s say there is an extremely close Virginia statewide election (governor or U.S. senator), or that the Virginia vote for president was close as can be. And let’s say Fairfax, the state’s most populous locality by far and one that until a few years ago seemingly couldn’t get its votes counted in a timely manner no matter what, fell back into that old habit, and was joined by other large locales that seemingly couldn’t get their [act] together and report results quickly and accurately.

So for seven days longer than now, everybody potentially would still be waiting on pins and needles? While there’s been no indication of malfeasance in Fairfax’s elections, those of Macchiavellian instincts would indeed wonder if those extra days would allow someone with malfeasance in his/her heart to make mischief.

The much simpler solution? When absentee ballots are mailed out to those who request them, include language that those returning them by mail should give themselves at least 10 calendar days by regular mail, and if there is less time remaining, go with overnight delivery. Pricey, but it guarantees (in theory) the ballots will arrive in time.

Even if such a measure is introduced in the 2023 legislative session, it’ll be dead on arrival. Regardless, efforts should be made to bolster public confidence in election results, and stringing out the waiting period even longer is no way to do that.

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