We've actively lobbied for that for years--Republicans have refused, because they know that the people working low-income jobs whose managers will not let them off to go vote tend to lean Democratic.

There are some states where the best we've managed is being allowed to take "unpaid" time off to go vote, with the caveat that your employer cannot fire you for doing so. Some states don't even have that much. Guess which way those states tend to vote.

How does that help when some places have only one polling station for 100k people? And there is a global pandemic, so we don't want 100k people congregating in the same crowded space?

In-person voting is being stifled as well. Look at the Georgia primary.

https://www.npr.org/2020/06/09/873054620/long-lines-voting-m...

Mail-in ballots are so good that once you do them, you'll be dumbfounded at why this isn't the absolute standard country-wide. Like I can't describe how simple it is and nice to be able to research candidates on your own with the full ballot in front of you. Using phones and such is prohibited at in-person voting.

The other advantage is you aren't fully limited by the mail. There are drop-off bins at locations like public libraries.

We trust our mail to do nearly everything official with the government: your ID, vehicle registration, selective service number, passport, IRS PIN, jury summons, US census etc ALL come through the mail and ONLY through the mail, but for voting we don't??? why?!?

Because the whole point of Trump appointing an inexperienced postmaster general is to cripple the USPS to reduce voter turnout.

That might work in a normal election year, but this year that solution would still put people in a bind between risking getting a severe infectious disease and exercising their democratic rights.

As much as I'd like to see it be a holiday (because I think it places the right degree of emphasis on its importance), the reality is that voting by mail works great. In fact, living in Washington state and having voted absentee before VBM became universal... I'm not sure I've ever voted in a polling place (and I've got a lot of grey hair). I can't say enough good things about being able to take my time to research candidates and vote when it is convenient for my schedule, rather than some 9-8 window on a particular day.