Everything has speeded up in life, from package delivery to getting a video appointment with a doctor – except election results. Especially in blue states. You know, the states where everyone is SO hyper-concerned about safeguarding democracy.

It used to be that election results were announced on election night or by the next morning. Many states like Florida and Georgia are now counting almost all ballots by midnight.

By contrast, Washington state held its primary Tuesday, and less than half the ballots were counted on Election Night. Only some 5.5 million ballots were counted on the night of the California primary, with two million still to go. Some election winners won’t be announced until April! As long as ballots were postmarked by Election Day, they can arrive at election offices a week later and will be counted.

All of this delay invites vote fraud and naturally creates cynicism about the integrity of elections and for good reason: they make our elections less secure. The National Commission on Federal Election Reform, chaired by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker, concluded that mail-in ballots were the tool of choice for those committing voter fraud, because they were cast outside the supervision of government officials.

What’s the solution? Limit the use of mail-in voting to extreme cases but allow people to vote early in person.