ICYMI: RightCount Chairs Stand in Defense of Mail-in Voting

“To be clear, as conservatives, former governors, and state chairs of RightCount, we support continued state reforms that build trust in election outcomes, including efforts to provide faster election returns.”

In case you missed it, today, RealClearPolitics published an important op-ed by former Governors Jan Brewer (AZ) and Pat McCrory (NC) – both state chairs of RightCount – making the case for why election administration must remain in the hands of the states, not Washington bureaucrats. In “Mail-In Voting: Trust the States to Decide,” they highlight how secure, state-run mail voting has long strengthened confidence in election outcomes and why federal interference would be a mistake.

Mail-in Voting: Trust the States to Decide
By Jan Brewer & Pat McCrory | August 22, 2025

For more than two centuries, the U.S. Constitution has left the administration of elections to the states. This principle of federalism is not an accident, nor is it an afterthought – it is central to the balance of powers our founders designed. Yet today, proposals in Washington seek to wrest control of election administration away from the states, including efforts to restrict time-tested practices like voting by mail. That would be a mistake.

Conservatives have long defended the right of states to set their own election rules. The Constitution’s Elections Clause gives states the authority to determine the “Times, Places and Manner” of elections. The 10th Amendment is equally clear: Powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states and the people. Our federal system was intentionally designed to prevent the overreach of centralized power. Federal meddling with how states conduct their elections violates this principle and undermines the trust voters place in their local officials.

Mail voting, in particular, has a long and proud history in America. Our men and women in uniform have cast their ballots by mail for generations, even from the front lines of war. During the Civil War, both Union and Confederate soldiers voted absentee. In every conflict since, from World War II to Afghanistan, mail ballots have allowed Americans to serve their country without sacrificing their voice in our democracy. No one has ever questioned the patriotism, or the legitimacy, of those votes.

To be clear, as conservatives, former governors, and state chairs of RightCount, we support continued state reforms that build trust in election outcomes, including efforts to provide faster election returns. In recent years, policymakers in Phoenix and Raleigh have championed policies that add security while keeping voting accessible. These efforts include voter identification requirements, signature verification, and voter list maintenance. Ballot harvesting by third-party organizations is illegal and mail ballots are required to be received by election officials on Election Day to be counted. Ballot-tracking tools also now allow voters to see in real time when their ballot was mailed, when it was received, and when it was tallied. That’s accountability that voters can see for themselves and other states should follow the lead of Arizona and North Carolina.

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Critics sometimes claim that mail voting benefits one party over another. The facts from 2024 tell a different story. Republicans have succeeded time and again under systems that include vote-by-mail options. Republicans won critical U.S. Senate contests last year, defeating entrenched incumbents in Ohio and Pennsylvania with vigorous GOP participation in mail-in and early voting. In Arizona, Republicans have built extensive ground operations that take advantage of early voting by mail, and those investments have paid off in competitive elections. In North Carolina, in the aftermath of devastating storms, similar innovations and the dedicated work of the U.S. Postal Service allowed all candidates to compete effectively while giving voters more flexibility in how they participate. Simply put: When mail voting is secure, Republicans win because our ideas win.

That’s why attempts by Washington to clamp down on state-run mail ballot systems make little sense. Far from solving problems, they would disrupt proven systems that voters trust. Federal one-size-fits-all rules would strip states of their ability to innovate, respond to local needs, and adapt to changing circumstances. It would also rob voters of the confidence that comes from knowing that their neighbors, not bureaucrats in Washington, are the ones safeguarding their elections.

The genius of our Constitution is that it disperses power, ensuring that no one branch or level of government holds too much authority. When it comes to elections, the states are the laboratories of policymaking. They have demonstrated that secure and transparent mail voting is not only possible, but effective. Washington should be looking to the states for guidance, not attempting to override them.

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To read Gov. Brewer and Gov. McCrory’s op-ed in its entirety, click here.