This is the silliest thing that has ever happened. They should have postponed it. Youre getting people sick out here. Georgiass election making national headlines. Lines wrapping around buildings and calls for investigations following allegations of voter suppression. The results are still coming in, with the secretary of States Office saying it could take longer than usual because so many people chose to vote by absentee ballot to the coronavirus. Susan erin geiger smith, those are scenes from two recent primary elections in the 2020 campaign year. Are they a harbinger of what this country might expect in november, or aberrations . Ms. Smith i hope that they are not, but i think a lot of preparations need to be made, for it will be. I actually think it is so important that we have these sort of test runs, the primary, to kind of see where the kinks are, and hopefully both the local Elections Officials and at the state and federal level are watching it and seeing how to solve the problems, because it is going to be unusual no matter how you slice it. Its going to be a different election. Susan certainly the coronavirus has added complications, but theres been a lot of changes in how states vote since the last cycle. A lot of states with new voting machines, new poll workers having to learn how things work. So what remedies in this short amount of time can states actually take to ensure that november works well . Ms. Smith you know, it is just about having the manpower, and like you said, teaching the poll workers how to operate the machines and making enough time to test things out. It feels like we have a lot of time for the election, but there is really no time to spare. And because of coronavirus, we might have a lot of new poll workers, as elderly poll workers may choose not to take that service this time. So preparation really is so important and i hope we can get focused on that, getting voters focused on the new mail systems and new machine options, too. I hope the focus can shift to education and preparation, away from kind of controversy and the way it has become. Susan you have been thinking a lot you have a new book out called thank you for voting. Tell me about the project. Ms. Smith so, the overall goal of the project is just to increase voter turnout by educating voters, inspiring them both through the good and bad of our history, and helping people to understand how they can expand the power of their own vote by getting others to join them. So, it both gives you sort of stepbystep directions in the back, a checklist of things you need to do, but also goes through how different groups got the right to vote. Women with the 100 year suffrage anniversary coming up, africanamericans, native americans. And a look at current suppression issues and how we can make voting more convenient. Present looking into 2020 of people who are ready out there doing the work to get out the vote, and innovative pieces of social media that were used in 2018 that made a big impact. I talk to people who are getting out first time, younger voters, taking a look at what businesses are doing to participate and foster voter participation. And then i also have chapters of voting topics i think even the most educated voters can have trouble with. Honestly, i learned so much writing this chapter. So those chapters are gerrymandering, the Electoral College and the evervexing , polling. If you have a question about a voting process, i hope it is in there. And it helps you just feel excited and empowered when you go to the polls. Susan the book also comes in a Young Persons addition. What is that all about . Ms. Smith you know, as we were the book, harpercollins just thought there was an opportunity to to transfer it into a younger edition. Its all the same ideas but hoping that Young Readers will get excited early and participate in the way that they can, and think about voting and what it means in the country. That one just has some more fun facts and anecdotes from some of the voting experts in the book, kind of how they got their current stage. But what i learned doing this reporting was that if you are not taught to vote when you are younger, if you do not go with your parents, or you are not a member of a church who promotes voting, or all the different ways people learn about voting, you really may not understand the importance when you turn 18, or in your early 20s. And it can be intimidating. Young people do not love doing things they have never done before and do not feel comfortable doing. So i really feel like our responsibility around voting needs to include much more making young people understand the mechanics, that you have to register. There are many steps you have to take, and so often we tell people go vote, go vote, go vote, but we do not mention, well, do you need a specific id for your state. Just all the specifics i think we all, the media, educators, parents, can all do a better job in preparing our young people, because the voter turnout among young people is just really low. We should want everyone to vote and become lifelong voters. I hope that can be part of the attention of this book, is really educating younger people. They are passionate about many things. It is not apathy, it is just not reaching the right person to instruct on the right mechanics at the right time. I think that is something we can improve on. Susan what led you to voting as a subject matter . Ms. Smith two strings that had to come together. The first was after 2016, just as a reporter. I can say i am not a political reporter. I was a legal reporter for a long time, and also write features about entrepreneurs and different trends. Politics specifically, was not ever a strong desire of mine to cover, although i am certainly a news junkie and follow it religiously. After 2016, there were so many questions about the basics. The Electoral College and the popular vote not matching up for only the second time in modern history. I wanted to know more about that, because there was so much confusion over polling. I really wanted to understand that better. And then just no matter how i thought about it, what it comes down to is each person showing up and making a call. I just became interested in the whole subject and was trying to figure out how to work my way into it in a way that i wanted to contribute, i guess. And then, i was scrolling instagram one afternoon, as we are all want to do, or at least i am, and actress Reese Witherspoon was interviewing an author, and she told reese she was writing a book about women and voting. And i just thought, that is it. That is the exact sort of project that i would be interested in. Something that is a deep dive. And although i did not know anne, i had written a lot of stories on books and the business of books for the wall street journal. I emailed her publicist. If she needs a researcher and someone to look into doing background interviews, let her know i would love to help. For anne got back to me and she was interested in my take, and of course she is a wonderful author, so just getting to work near her brain was exciting for me. I started it as a Research Project for her. I would choose a topic a month, but it was supposed to be a side project. Really, 20 , if that, of work. I was continuing to write articles. I let it take over. I was obsessed. I spent so much time digging into whatever was that months topic, whether it was africanamericans and voting, native americans and voting. At one point anne just said i think you are spending too much time on this. This is a lot of work. But as it turned out, anne wanted more time on the novel she was working on, and at that point i had been deep into it for almost a year. And she just called me one day and said, erin, i think the timing is not going to work for me to do this, and i think it is your project and you should take it and run with it. Will you do it . In the moment, even though i was not thinking of it as my book at all, i was like, i will do it. I was so excited about the prospect of sharing all this information, honestly, that yes, lets go. And now nearly 1. 5 years later, here we are. It came about in an unusual way for a book, for sure. When anne asked if i could take it over, i had to quickly decide on an outline and all the sources. I had just until then i had just i had just until then been researching so i had to , immediately dive in and start reporting, because my version was going to be more reported than annes probably would have been. Susan so you are a firsttime author and we are talking to you on your official publication date. For a firsttime author, what is official publication day feel like . Ms. Smith you know, it feels to me like almost another day in quarantine, i have to say. [laughter] it is very exciting. I walked down to my local bookstore and saw they had the full window display, that was very exciting. I adore bookstores, so that might have been the highlight moment. Its just an interesting time. I talk to other authors who have books coming out right now and we are all just doing what we can do to get the word out. And then you know, world events help you keep very much your own troubles and concerns in perspective. At this point i am just excited that it is out in the world. Excited to talk to you and some others, and im going to drop it off personally at a few friend houses for a roving book party. So thats my day. Susan i think everyone watching understands, just another day in quarantine. You write in the book that selfisolation increased your passion around the subject for people to vote. Why . Ms. Smith i think the coronavirus in general, we saw the power that our local officials have, the power and importance, and that they have to make decisions that really impact all of us. In the worst of times, as the coronavirus certainly felt here in new york city, they are making life and death choices. And so, especially during president ial election years, we have so much focus on the top of the ticket, but we all need to vote all the way down. It certainly matters to who are city councilmembers are, and it matters very much our mayor is. And that was throughout the writing of the book, i really wanted to focus on how much your vote matters for offices, of course for the president , but on down. And i really think that coronavirus really drove that home. And then of course vote by mail has of course become a huge topic. And as i was writing the book, its something they were doing for a matter of convenience and have allmail voting have higher turnouts in other states. There are a lot of factors, but it seems like it is a good, positive thing states are doing and there is a Movement Towards adopting it more. Of course when coronavirus happened to became a massive focus as we prepare to do it on a much larger scale. Susan your own story begins in liberty, texas. Tell me about liberty. Ms. Smith liberty is a town a little under 10,000 now but it was around 6000 growing up. It is geographically between houston and beaumont in southeast texas. It is a town with a town square. We have your quintessential courthouse. But it is a town that is very racially diverse, and has its monetary struggles, for sure. It was a special and interesting place to grow up. As i mentioned in the book, its very different politically from where i live now. Its a very republican part of the state, as much of Rural America is. Obviously where i live now is very democratic. I was happy that i have both of those perspectives and i am still very close to both of those places as i write this book. Susan give me the quick story of your path from smalltown liberty, texas to new york city by way of law school and journalism. What was that path like . Ms. Smith i grew up in liberty. My entire life until i was in college. I went to the university of texas at austin. I was a journalism major there. Journalism is not totally out of the blue after being an attorney. I lived in your city for one i lived in new york city for one year after undergrad and just kind of, you know, if you fall in love with the city, you fall in love. Its hard to ever turn back, or it was for me. I then returned to texas for law school, again the university of texas. I practiced law at houston, austin, at a big commercial Litigation Firm for about four years before i just could not get the idea of being part of the news out of my mind. I knew i needed to learn to not write like a lawyer, to be honest. So i went to columbia for a year for their masters program. So that was my quick, quick or not quick trip. I enjoyed practicing law. I wasnt one of those lawyers that hated it. Parts i enjoyed most was research and writing. It was a good transition to journalism. Susan you described as being in love with new york city. Are you still in love with it after the experience of coronavirus . Ms. Smith yes. It has certainly made its difficulties known to all of us who live in small apartments. And i have a very active sixyearold, and we did leave the city after several weeks of being fully locked down. Obviously back now. But yeah, i want to see the city come roaring back and i want to be a part of it. Even when it was hard. Certainly cannot give up on it, i dont think. You picture the parts of the city you love, and when they were shut down and quiet, thats just so hard to even really contemplate. But honestly, the city feels back and swing now. I think spring did it well. Nice weather makes things better. Im still in love, what can i say. Susan i want to dig into some of the history you telling your book about enfranchisement. Before we start in the specific areas of history that you tell, america was founded around ideals enshrined in the constitution. With that in mind, why did it take this country nearly two centuries for all adults to be enfranchised . Ms. Smith you know, its the old story of people with the power being afraid of giving it up. What i learned as i studied specifically the timeline of voting, was the idea of everybody being able to vote was always there from the start. And then every time it was expanded, there were people who were pushing for it to be expanded a little more. When the 15th amendment, which allowed black men to vote, when that was debated, there were discussions to put in there prohibitions on discriminating on the basis of education, or language, or things like that. They did not make it in, and so we have decades and decades of things like poll taxes and literacy tests. The ideal was always there. Our thought of everyone gets to vote that we are also proud of we are all so proud of has existed throughout our history, but it has taken a long time to fully grant those rights, or admit that citizens of the country have already had those rights, which i think is a better way to look at it. It just took the country a really long time to get there. Susan you start out by telling us a little more about the history of the africanamerican vote. I want to start this part of our conversation with a recent clip from Atlanta Mayor that went Keisha Lance Bottoms that went viral after she spoke it on may 29, 2020. Lets watch. [video clip] you burn down the city, you are burning down our community. If you want change in america, go and register to vote. Show up at the polls on june 9. Do it in november. That is the change we need in this country. Susan what is the recent history of africanamerican turnout in american elections . Ms. Smith africanamerican turnout is similar to the way that white americans turn out. So, about 60 in the last election. But it goes up and down. Obamas firstterm, there was really large turnout. A little less than the second a little less in the second term, but still big. A lack of africanamerican turnout for Hillary Clinton was considered part of her downfall. But i think the better way to sort of think about it is, all the barriers that some africanamericans face, especially in the south still when they go to vote, that quote, the speech from the mayor of atlanta, i found it so powerful at the time. And still do. Of course she is actually right. She is absolutely right. You cannot have change without voting. But you understand a little of the pushback of, ok, weve voted and we are not seeing enough change. I think any conversation now needs to fully admit that voting has to go with other policy changes, but you cannot have the policy changes often without the voting. Voting is not the only solution, but it is a huge part of it. Whats interesting that has turned out from both the Atlanta Mayors call to action and president obama talked about voting later, and then lebron james just in the last few weeks, kind of pushed back a little. That voting is not enough. But he is starting an organization that not only educates, his focus heavily will be on educating young black americans to vote, but also at the same time tries to tackle current suppression issues. I think we need to think of all of all those as going handinhand, and really admit where our faults still are in the system. Oppression does not look like it did in the days of jim crow laws, where there was an absolute, no, you cant vote, or Something Like literacy tests that was impossible to pass. Those were pretty blatant. But today, there are things that we really have to keep an eye on. Voter roll purges, wait times being too long. Rgia, we saw in the last primary, just terribly long lines. A lot of it was from a lack of preparation. Whether that lack of preparation had ill intent or not, there are people who cannot wait seven hours to vote and that is not a barrier that should happen in the country. And i think all of the focus on it now, especially this far before the election, will maybe make a difference in november. I feel like a lot of americans are focusing on it more, and that can only hopefully lead to improvement. A seminal moment in africanAmerican History and franchise meant was the signing of the emancipation proclamation the civil rights act. We have a clip of lyndon johnson, president at the time. [video clip] this is a victory for the freedom of the american negro. But it is also a victory for the freedom of the american nation. And every family across this great entire searching land will live stronger in liberty, will live more splendid in expectation, and will be prouder to be american, because of the act that you have passed that i will sign today. [applause] susan that scene in the rotunda of the capital. Erin geiger smith, congress wrote the law so that it would have to be renewed at intervals. What was the thinking behind that . Ms. Smith the thinking was twofold. One, that if all of a sudden country no longer needed those federal oversights of states with discrimination issues, if it was no longer necessary, then it could expire and it was to pacify those who were not so much interested in the Voting Rights act lasting forever. It kind of gave them some cover, too. So it was both in case the country turned itself around fully and it was no longer necessary, and then also so those who did not want it might have a chance to not vote for it when it came up for renewal. Susan one of the president s who enthusiastically signed a renewal of the Voting Rights act was Ronald Reagan in 1982. In general when congress has had to debate the reauthorization of the vra, what has the tenner been like in those debates . Is this always a divided conversation . Ms. Smith well, it almost always seems very divided in the background. In public, people arent likely to say that people do not need the right to vote and we do not need to protect it. I always find that in soaring rhetoric, when it is signed it is how we like to think about ourselves, and what goes on in the background of maybe trying to chip it away. That happened nearly every time it was try to renew. Every time it was time to renew. Ultimately congress and whoever was present at the time felt whoever was president at the time felt like renewing it, was whether politically important or just important, it was always renewed. Sometimes it was a lot of backandforth, and there may be congressional backstabbing from time to time. I do think it is important to realize that no matter how ugly it got in the back, the final decision was always that we need this, and we could not turn our back on it. I think understanding both sides of those coins that people did want to chip away at it every time, but that in the end it was renewed and often strengthened through the obama administration. Susan earlier, you made reference to also looking at the history of native american suffrage. What is the story regarding that . What is the brief story on that . Ms. Smith native American History is all very difficult in our countrys history, and voting is no different. For so long, the conversation was whether native americans, or indigenous peoples, would be citizens. That citizenship discussion lasted a long time. And then once citizenship was determined, then it was, well, if native americans live on reservations, should they still be able to vote . And it was into the 1950s before every state allowed native americans to vote. No matter where they lived. We always hear about that they dont pay enough taxes, that was an argument that went for a really long time. But what sort of is so interesting about that history, native americans fought in american wars and then had to come back, like africanamericans had to as well, and argue for the vote, even after they had fought for the country. So, it really is a tough history, and even today when you go back to the Voting Rights act, scholars who look at the number of cases filed either on behalf of native americans or that directly impact their Voting Rights, it has a very high success record in cases like the closing of polling places, or how local officials are elected. And as one of those scholars pointed out to me, the fact that the success rate in those cases are so high really shows that were still sort of putting up barriers that native americans have to jump to be able to vote. Susan this august, the country will mark the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote. To talk more about that, we chose a clip from the 75th anniversary with sandra day oconnor, who of course with the first female appointed to the supreme court. Lets hear what she had to say. Lets listen to what she had to say on an earlier anniversary. [video clip] 75 years on, we have the vote, we hold positions of power, we enjoy at least some opportunities in all sectors of the economy, and save perhaps for a few old folks who still dont get it, we have the full respect that all citizens in our democracy deserved. No doubt, the redoubtable women of the Suffrage Movement would tell us not to rest until fully quality is achieved. Full equality is achieved. And quite rightly so. But it is fitting on this 75th anniversary, that we pause to remember the lady who secured our rights, and to celebrate the remarkable progress that the past 75 years have brought. Susan remember the ladies who secured rights. The names most people would be familiar with our susan b are Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady stanton. Who are others that people should know about that work instrumental in womens suffrage . Ms. Smith i think it is important to recognize the africanamerican women that fought for suffrage too. And every time we talk about the suffrage anniversary, i think it is important to point out a big asterick that it had, which it gave women nationwide the right to vote, but many africanamerican women in the south were prevented from voting until 1965. So, we have to think of both of those days when we talk about the anniversary. But you know, sojourner truth, ada wellsh terrel, were women who had a lot of impact. Elizabeth cady stantons daughter was one of those that spearheaded to start having parades to really make the movement more visible. There are just so many women that played so many different parts and were so innovative. One of the most interesting things about following the track of the very long Suffrage Movement, to think that it took 1848 to 1920, thats a generation of women, and they all had to build on what the previous generation had done. They had to, first, have the meetings and just try to get the word out across the country. And then they began to fight for actual legal change, fight for the amendment. And then, in the 1870s, there was a shift a woman named victoria woodhall, a firebrand of a woman, started arguing, look, the constitution gives citizens the right to vote. We are citizens, we have the right, lets all go vote. Therehere was open was a New York Times article about Susan B Anthony finally going to vote, and they try to stop her and said she could not vote, but they could not cite a reason why she could not, and so she voted and went home and wrote Elizabeth Cady stanton, i have gone and done it. They fined her 100, which she refused to pay. At the times, the New York Times writeup about it, the headline was minor topics. Even while theyre making these inroads, there was not a lot of support in the country. It took all these women such a long time to get the right to vote, but they worked and worked, and chipped away and chipped away, and were savvy as far as the legislature and the different states. Of our very tough history, the Suffrage Movement is one that can certainly bring joy and pride, even though it certainly got tough and ugly at times. Susan it was not universally endorsed by all women of the period. What were some of the female opponents arguments against womens suffrage . Ms. Smith some women who were wealthier and sort of upperclass women already had a pretty nice life and did not necessarily see the need to vote, because their husbands were powerful and could vote with no problem. Some of it was part of the one thingvement to not combine those two. If women got the right to vote, then alcohol sales would be banned, which of course they were, then it came back. That was a big part of it. It just took a while to change the minds. Some minds. It took a long while to change some minds. Susan let me change to the supreme court. The Roberts Court has had two major decisions, both of them 54. One in 2013, and one in 2018. Tell me about the Roberts Courts direction on voting issues. Ms. Smith well, its undoubtedly that the 2013 Shelby County decision has had a massive impact on Voting Rights. There is not any Voting Rights advocate or attorney that does not see it as a ground shaking impact. So while of course the voting laws that are discriminatory are still illegal, theres not federal oversight in states with a history of discrimination, the kind of stopgap where the need they need federal approval to make voting changes. What is so interesting about that 2013 decision is about how is how immediately states may changes. Making texas passed a voter id law immediately. They announced within hours of that decision that it would go into effect. And some of the laws that were put forth, that particular texas voter id was knocked down by the courts, and now they have another voter id law. North carolina created a lot of they stopped increasing early they stopped really decreased early voting. They did a lot of things that directly impacted the africanamerican community. And courts called them out on it. So, some of these laws are still struck down, but they just have to do the whole winding through the court system. And there are of course constant calls for the reinstatement of that part of the bill the Voting Rights act that they struck down. And some of the cases sort of combined. So, theres a few years after 2013, there was a decision that allowed states to strike voters from the voting rolls if they had not voted in the last two federal elections and did not respond to a postcard saying you have not voted lately, do you still want to be registered. And that sort of thing has led to what people like the league of women voters say is some of their top concerns right now, are these aggressive purges of the voter rolls. That do seem to how exactly all of it comes together, theres a myriad of ways. But the main studies show that the voter roll purging happens more aggressively in states that have a history of discrimination. Again, that is just one of the barriers. If you think you are registered but you show up to vote and you are not, especially if you or any state that requires 30 day registration, you will not get to vote, and you probably fully expected that you were. So its all of those Things County decision that voting that give Voting Rights activists a whole lot of headache and a whole lot of work. That same native american scholar called the 2013 decision, i think he said it was the lawyers Employment Fund because the lawsuits now filed as a result of Shelby County, they feel nearly endless, to be honest. Susan lets put a still onscreen to look at how voter turnout actually has happened in the United States over the past couple elections. In 2012, 58. 6 of all eligible voters. 2014, 26. 7 . 36. 7 2016, 60. 1 . 2018, 50 of all eligibles. How does the United States turnout compared to other compare to other western democracies . How do we do . Ms. Smith we do not do great. We do not have good bragging rights. Some countries have 90 . Some of those do require voting as a requirement, but the penalties are pretty low. I do not think it is really a fear of breaking that law that gets people to the polls. But, you know, its something that we should do better on, theres no doubt about it. We should do better and we should all want to do better. That is sort of in the book, why i wanted to take this stance which i really believe. This should not be a partisan issue. We should want everyone in our country who is eligible to vote, and we should make it as easy and accessible for them to do so. Theres no reason to make voting difficult. We like to think of it as a privilege, and we are lucky of course to live in a democracy, but in our democracy, voting is a right. And i hate the politicization of things that are making voting more accessible. I find it very frustrating, and i think it is a flaw in the way that our politicians think about things. I just do not think we should be politicizing having early voting periods, or mail in voting is another thing that has obviously become highly politicized. And i just wish that was not the case. That may seem very optimistic, but most americans believe that voting is a fundamental part of our rights. And i feel like if we all thought about it more in that way, and then carried it out to, all right, if it is fundamental, what do we need to make everyone be able to do it . So i do not know, i am on such a soapbox of the politicization of this because i think it is unnecessary and that it hurts things like our turnouts. Susan you mentioned earlier that youth turnout has waxed and waned from an to election. From election to election. Young voters may not realize that the age of 18 is relatively recent. President nixon signed it into a law. The quickest ratification ever of a constitutional amendment. Here is a bit of Richard Nixon about the 18yearold vote. [video clip] it was a great privilege to welcome this very Exciting Group to the white house on the day that we celebrate our National Independence day. And it seems to me that it is particularly appropriate that on this same day, we are certifying the 26th amendment to the constitution of the United States. That amendment, as you know, provides for the right to vote of all of our young people between 18 and 21. 11 million new voters as a result of this. And a few now that you will see certified by the administrator. Susan so why does the youth vote wax and wane . What gets young people to the polls . Ms. Smith that is the milliondollar question everyone has been trying to answer since that nixon speech. It does waxed and waned, but it ne, but it mainly stays low. No matter how you slice it. A lot of people think it is because currently because we lack the sort of civics as the way that might have been taught in the 1950s and 1960s into the 1970s. There is less of a focus on that now. So that is a reason. But what i kept coming to is since we cannot identify an absolute reason other than a lack of education, we just need to do everything we can to try to get them out there. And one of the most heartening parts of reporting this book was seeing young people that are doing this work. It was just after the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, which anyway one looked at it, it felt like an ugly week in the country. Whatever side you were on, it was not a pleasant experience, i do not think. And i flipped from watching those to sunny los angeles and a conference of the actors and activists who had gathered young activists from all 50 states. They were active in different some cared about the environment, some cared about lgbtq rights, some were just great speakers who wanted to be involved. And they just spent a full day brainstorming getting their peers to vote, speaking the way they knew each other would understand. Things like asking youtube stars to incorporate voting into their content. They had all these ideas that they were working to put into effect in 2018 into 2020. Into 2018, the march for our lives movement was a massive shift for young voters. And when you look at the 2014 turnout, to compare 2014 to 2018 since they are both midterms, the 2014 voter turnout for 18yearold to 29yearolds was 18 . That number is terrible. 21 . In 2018 it jumped to 36 . So that is a huge leap that i really do think is because of the politics that were going on at the time, certainly Climate Change and School Violence and shootings in schools are some things that impact young people even more directly than we can understand, especially the school shootings. And those movements and a focus on registration and showing up really did have an impact. And it is not that people have not been trying for a long time. Rock the vote was founded i believe in 1980 and it is a wonderful organization that continues. So it is not as if trying to get the youth out is a new thing, but there really is a lot of indication from 2018 that this really could be a shift and a breakthrough. So it is really hopeful going into 2020. Coronavirus has harmed Voter Registration efforts, because so much of that is still done in person at things like concerts and churches, and Even High School graduations. So its going to be a little interesting to see how that shakes out registrationwise this year. But those groups are hoping to catch up and are finding innovative ways Michelle Obamas organization had a massive couch party where people could sign up to call people to register to vote, to text. So, the youth voter turnout in our country is just tough. And something we need to do better about. But theres positive movement. And it is not just huge organizations. Theres a lawyer in california, a practicing attorney, certainly an educated woman, who was shocked to learn that she did not realize californians could preregister to vote when they were 16 or 17. So a lot of states have the option of you can register well before you are 18, so when the time comes around, you are ready to go. She realized that was a law that she did not know about. Until her daughter was old enough and she started looking at other states, started looking at how those estates got the word out, how schools could get the word out. And within a couple of years, she now works with teachers and students in 25 states to help students register each other. So that is a big movement too that is going on, to have High School Students be trained on how to help their fellow students register. And there are wonderful things that these High School Students groups do. They might challenge a rival school to see what kind of registration they can get. Those grassroots movements can really matter. Uncertainly, they can matter on a local level. Susan are these efforts bipartisan . Ms. Smith most of them are, yes. Some do lean one way or the other, but most of these are definitely bipartisan. And any organization that goes into a school, just by nature, it is very important that they work in a bipartisan way. So it really is just about everyone that i spoke to that does the work, especially in school, talked about how careful they are to describe with the what the primary system means and registering as one party or the other might mean as far as the mechanics of it. Otherwise, just try to send them to information that might help them decide which one they are. But they really try to be very careful and just talk about registering, specifically. Companies involved do as well. A lot of the get out the vote efforts are nonpartisan. Certainly each party has their own as well, but many, many options out there, if that is a concern for people, they are nonpartisan. The league of women voters is nonpartisan. And it does not only education, registration work, but also fights so many of the Voting Rights lawsuits throughout the country. So there are nonpartisan groups organizations large and small doing this work. Susan to remedy a number of concerns people have had in addition to the coronavirus, exacerbated by the coronavirus, mailin voting is getting an extra special look at this year, and states are doing, considering converting some rules and relaxing rules regarding it. President trump of course has been very vocal about his concern about mailin voting. Lets listen to him and one of his recent comments about it. [video clip] we had seven elections for congress, and they were like tied. And they lost every one of them because they came and dropped a whole pile of ballots on the table. You do not think they rip them out of mailboxes . All the time, you read about it. Take a look. They do worse than that. In some cases, they will not mail them to a republican community, a conservative community. They dont happen to send the ballots to those communities. If you use common sense, you know that is going to happen. They can even print ballots. They get the same paper, the same machine, nothing special. They get the same paper, the same machine, they print ballots. You would have to do a great job catching them doing it, or your state authorities would have to catch them. But you have tremendous potential, and you have tremendous potential for fraud and abuse but you have tremendous potential, and you have tremendous fraud and abuse, but you have tremendous potential for fraud and abuse. Susan so five states currently send every voter in their state of ballot. Colorado, hawaii, utah, washington, and oregon. Other states have various rules about requesting them. Those five states, what has their experience been . Is their widespread fraud and abuse of the mailin Voting System . Ms. Smith there is not. There is not. When i hear president trumps comments on it, first, it is so hard to know even where to start because i feel like that puts such terrible information out there. There just is not any sort of widespread problem with fraud in the states that use vote by mail. There are so many states i mean, just to address one of the things he said about things being stolen from the mailboxes. If that is a concern of yours, you can drop your ballot off. Colorado, for instance, has dropbox centers. Drop off centers. And i think a lot of states will do that, where you can walk your ballot there. And many People Choose that option. It is convenient, and like anything else, you like to drop it off as close as you can. There are just so many safeguards. You have to have the signature on the outer envelope of your ballot. It usually has to match the signature on the voter roll. The balance ballots are very specific. Throughout the state, throughout the country, i wish i knew the number of how many different ballots we have. If someone were to try to do such a thing, it would be just impossible to pull off something in such a widespread way. The ballots are specific. Many of them have barcodes. Vote by mail under states that have used it, it is something that they have had to work on and build, and those secretaries of state who have used it, that is the concern they express about using it in such a widespread way in 2020, is logistically being able to print enough ballots, to send outs to everyone. Ballots to everyone. We have had some hiccups here in new york with you request your ballot and not getting there in time. Mine didnt. I requested an absentee ballot and i didnt get one and i will be running out to vote today. But the concern that the secretaries of state have are all logistical ones. It is not fraud. We need to focus on the process and move away from these fraud concerns, because that just has not been an issue. What those states that have it have been able to do was they were able to start small. Test it in local elections, and then expand it nationwide and tinker with what is the drop off. Colorado has Voting Centers where you can vote in person same day if you want to. I think one of the most important things to talk about when we are having the nationwide vote by mail conversation and how it will work, is no one wanted to be all no one wants it to be all vote by mail. Everyone who works in this field knows that you have to have plenty of in person voting and plenty of early voting, because there are plenty of people who are not comfortable with vote by mail. Back to native americans in native American Communities who do not have ready access to a post office that had a negative impact on their turnout rate. So there are a lot of things to think about and learn about. It is just that fraud is not one of them. Susan we have just two minutes left as we wrap up here. Congress allocated 400 million in the coronavirus first relief package for states for voting for this year. What really can be done in the few months that we have left to ensure that americas vote in november happens in a way that has integrity and people can be sure of the results . Ms. Smith some people that think that is not at all enough money, but that will have to work its way through congress, and that part will get figured out. But i think local officials need to work with their state officials, especially. Or opposite that. State officials have to help need to help local officials make sure to recruit enough workers, work the logistics of voting really are endless. So, for the typical voter, though, you just have to do what you can do as a voter, and that is learn all of your voting options. If you can early vote, it is probably a great idea to do so. You should request your ballot as early as possible if you are in a state where you need to request it. These are all, especially with mailin voting, we are all in a new system and we all have a lot of rules to learn. But i think it is a great opportunity to really focus on the education aspect of it and educate ourselves and others, and for the state to take on that responsibility, too. And the media to really help lay out what needs to happen. There isnt so much an individual voter can do to make sure that their county elections board has it pulled together, although feel free to call and volunteer. Volunteer to be a poll worker. It is not even volunteer, it is a paid position. So i think we just have to keep abreast of the many, many factors that are playing into it, and then make sure we do our individual part to get ourselves out and get others out as well. Susan the book is called thank you for voting the maddening, enlightening, inspiring truth about voting in america. Erin geiger smith, thank you very much for spending one hour with cspan. Ms. Smith thank you very much for having me. I appreciate it. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] livetch our daily coverage of congress. Our ongoing effort to save lives, meet the needs of our states, healthcare workers. Along with briefings on the coronavirus pandemic. Supreme Court Oral Arguments and decisions. And the latest from campaign 2020. Be a part of the conversation every day with our live callin Program Washington journal. If you missed any of our live coverage, watch any time on demand at cspan. Org, or listen on the go with the free cspan radio app. This morning, carl smith talks about tax policies he believe will help promote economic recovery