If the 2020 pandemic makes vote-by-mail inevitable for this November’s presidential election, the nation needs to know how not to do it the Oregon way, which encourages ballot harvesting.

In 1998, Secretary of State Phil Keisling introduced vote-by-mail to Oregon and the nation. At the time, it seemed a decent idea. But Keisling, a good government reformer, forgot one thing — to secure the ballot box. He instead left it wide open for 20 days in every election. Between special elections, primaries, and general elections, Oregonians can literally spend months in the middle of an election.