For many college students nationwide, absentee ballots are the only way to participate in a representative democracy. But student anecdotes this election season indicate that through likely bureaucratic blunders, many absentee ballot applications – and the actual ballots – are never mailed to voters.

While some local and state election board employees may think absentee ballots are not worth much time and effort, several election races this year, particularly in California and New York, may well be decided by absentees’ votes. Interested voters will not participate in democracy this election because bureaucrats’ indifference.

In many states, absentee ballots are not counted if the race is not particularly close. But in many other elections, every single vote is important in the final tally. When election board workers don’t send out absentee ballot applications or the ballots, they are sending a message that voting doesn’t matter much – hardly the kind of message this country needs given its pathetically low levels of voter turnout.

People who take the time and effort to contact their local boards of election should not be rewarded with indifference and neglect for doing their civic duty. Bureaucrats have lots of paperwork to shuffle, but that’s their job. Local governments must ensure the basic tenet of democracy – voting – does not fall victim to bureaucratic laziness.