Pub. 60 2019-2020 Issue 5

9 FALL 2020 For Trump supporters, the economy (88%) and violent crime (74%) were the most important, followed by im- migration (61%), gun policy (60%) and foreign policy (57%). By contrast, the largest share of Biden supporters viewed health care (84%), the corona- virus outbreak (82%), and racial and ethnic inequality (76%) as the most important to their vote. Biden supporters were more than twice as likely as Trump supporters to say the coronavirus outbreak (82% Biden, 39% Trump) and economic inequality (65% Biden, 28% Trump) was very im- portant. The widest gaps between the two voter groups were climate change (57% difference) and racial and ethnic inequality (52% difference). This poll reinforces the stark differenc- es between voters on issues of greatest importance to our country. There is a lot of enthusiasm from both groups to get the base out to vote. The question is, how will people go about voting this election cycle? Mail-in balloting The U.S. Postal Service finds itself in the middle of a storm called the 2020 Elections. States are still reeling from the effects of the coronavirus pan- demic, and there are record numbers of Americans expected to vote by mail this year. Most states already allow some form of mail-in voting, and in 2016 nearly a quarter of all ballots were cast by mail. There are three main ways states vote by mail. First, there are “universal” vote-by-mail states, which is when all registered voters automatically receive a ballot, but this is relatively rare. Just five states currently conduct all-mail elections by default: Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Next, there are “no-excuse” vote-by- mail states, which is the most common method of voting by mail in the U.S. — 29 states currently use it in federal elections. Under this system, any regis- tered voter can vote by mail, but must first request a ballot. In multiple states that do not regularly allow all voters to vote by mail, state officials have recently expanded voting by mail due to the pandemic or allowed voters to use the coronavirus as a reason to vote by mail during the upcoming elections. Texas is in this group, but it is also one of the states that have not expanded eligibility. And finally, 16 states are “excuse-only” vote by mail, which means voters must explain why they can’t show up at the polls to get their ballot. In Texas, a registered voter can request a ballot to fill out at home and then mail in if they are 65 years or older, have a disability or an illness, or are confined in jail, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s office. Voters who will not be in the county where they registered on the election day and dur- ing the entire early voting period can also request a ballot by mail. The pri- mary way in which Texas has adjusted voting rules during the pandemic is THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS TAKEN A TREMENDOUS TOLL ON TEXANS, BUT WE’RE GRATEFUL TO THOSE WHO ARE KEEPING TEXAS RUNNING —AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, WORKING SAFE WHILE DOING SO. WE ALSO KNOW THAT MANY TEXANS AND TEXAS BUSINESSES HAVE BEEN AFFECTED, AND OUR HEARTS GO OUT TO ALL OF THEM DURING THIS TIME. TEXAS MUTUAL IS WORKING TO SUPPORT OUR POLICYHOLDERS AND OUR COMMUNITIES. LEARN MORE AT TEXASMUTUAL.COM/CORONAVIRUS. STAY SAFE , TEXAS ©2020 Texas Mutual Insurance Company STANDING STRONG with TEXAS continued on page 10