The media are extremely defensive of mail-in voting and any suggestion they might be fraudulent, or inefficient, or disenfranchise people who try to vote
On Saturday's NBC Nightly News, the show displayed another crack in the liberal media narrative as correspondent Katie Beck informed viewers that many mailed votes are rejected over signatures, which she also noted disproportionately effects minorities.
The story also suggested that people submit new signatures to their local elections office each election year, which notably sounds like the kind of expectation that liberals would argue many of their voters would be too unmotivated to do.
Beck's report began by focusing on the case of a Pennsylvania voter who mailed her vote in time, but found out after primary election day that it was rejected over her signature.
KATIE BECK: Stephanie Fusco mailed in her ballot for Pennsylvania's primary election -- signed and on time -- but a week after votes had been tallied --
STEPHANIE FUSCO, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: I received an email saying that "your ballot has been canceled."
BECK: Election officials determined that Fusco's ballot signature didn't match the one they had on file. Her vote thrown out, though her signature was authentic.
FUSCO: I was really upset, and I was really angry. You can't really expect somebody to have the same signature from eight years ago.
It was oddly left unaddressed by Beck that Fusco's claim that her signature was the same as the one on file was contradicted by on-screen text suggesting her ballot was rejected because she had merely used her initials as a signature, which was not consistent with her signature that was on record.
After this confusing beginning of her report, the NBC correspondent then turned to a handwriting expert who argued that people's signatures change over time, making it likely that legitimate votes are sometimes rejected over a signature that does not match:
BECK: Handwriting expert Richard Orsini trains his election workers to detect forged ballots. Orsini says no two signatures are identical, and vary over time.
ORSINI: Hand size and age and illness; medication; the writing position they were in; were they depressed? All those kind of factors come into play.
Several examples of former President Richard Nixon's signatures allegedly taken from within a six-year period were shown on screen which looked substantially different from one another.
It was then suggested that voters should visit the registrar's office and submit a new signature each election year:
BECK: Orsini says a mail-in voter's best defense against a possible mistake is to make sure the signature kept by the elections office is as current as possible.
ORSINI: If I've got one written within at least the same year -- within six months or so -- that's going to be a much better indicator.
Given that liberals promote lame excuses that it is unreasonable to expect inactive voters to respond to inquiries from their elections office every few years to avoid cancelation of their registration, or just to have an unexpired photo ID to vote, it seems unlikely that updating one's signature every election year is something that would be considered a reasonable expectation to make sure one's vote gets counted.
The NBC correspondent then informed viewers that minorities experience a higher rate of having their ballots rejected over signatures: "While cases of disqualified ballots remain relatively low, data shows they do happen more often to some groups than others -- specifically, black, Latino, and Asian voters."
After playing a soundbite of Wendy Weisser from the leftist Brennan Center recalling that there were long voting lines during this year's primaries, Beck pivoted to reassuring viewers as she concluded.
This episode of the NBC Nightly News was sponsored by Fidelity. Their contact information is linked.
Below is a complete transcript of the report from the Saturday, September 12, NBC Nightly News:
JOSE DIAZ BALART: We're back now with our "Vote Watch" series, and the big difference your signature can make when it comes to elections. Katie Beck explains.
KATIE BECK: Stephanie Fusco mailed in her ballot for Pennsylvania's primary election -- signed and on time -- but a week after votes had been tallied --
STEPHANIE FUSCO, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: I received an email saying that "your ballot has been canceled."
BECK: Election officials determined that Fusco's ballot signature didn't match the one they had on file. Her vote thrown out, though her signature was authentic.
FUSCO: I was really upset, and I was really angry. You can't really expect somebody to have the same signature from eight years ago.
BECK: From the 2020 primaries, more than 550,000 ballots were rejected in 30 states, due to missing signatures, missed deadlines, or signatures that could not be verified.
RICHARD ORSINI, HANDWRITING EXPERT: I put a loop on the T-bar -- you didn't.
BECK: Handwriting expert Richard Orsini trains his election workers to detect forged ballots. Orsini says no two signatures are identical, and vary over time.
ORSINI: Hand size and age and illness; medication; the writing position they were in; were they depressed? All those kind of factors come into play.
BECK: Look at these actual signatures from former President Richard Nixon over a six-year period. It does not look like the same person.
ORSINI: Exactly. And yet it is -- it's the same signature.
BECK: Orsini says a mail-in voter's best defense against a possible mistake is to make sure the signature kept by the elections office is as current as possible.
ORSINI: If I've got one written within at least the same year -- within six months or so -- that's going to be a much better indicator.
BECK: While cases of disqualified ballots remain relatively low, data shows they do happen more often to some groups than others -- specifically, black, Latino, and Asian voters.
WENDY WEISER, NYU BRENDAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE, We had a lot of problems during the primaries. We saw incredibly long lines, especially in communities of color and in the urban centers.
BECK: Election expert Wendy Weiser says November will be a challenge, but the process is improving, and voters should trust it.
WEISER: People should not be wary. That said, we should be holding our system accountable, and accountable to our ideals.
BECK: Every vote fair and counted. Katie Beck, NBC News.
