This is the second part in a two-part series on Election Day in the United States.

Now that we’re clear on how distorted the American voting system is — voting purists and avoiders alike — what can actually be done about it?

A lot, actually. Way more than the American government concedes.

We’ve been led to believe that mail-in voting and election fraud are synonymous — as if one can’t exist without the other. In reality, voting by mail has been around as long as standardized elections, if not longer. Fraud wasn’t a concern until former President Donald Trump decided it was and convinced everyone else, despite a total lack of evidence, that they, too, should be concerned.

Back in the 17th century, men in Massachusetts could vote from home if their houses were “vulnerable to Indian attack,” according to historian Alex Keyssar’s book “The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States.”

So, an unfounded fear — created by white men — was reason enough to vote from home, but a global pandemic wasn’t?

By the Civil War, military personnel could vote by mail, and by the early 20th century, railroad workers and people with an illness could, too. In typical California fashion, the state held the first entirely mail-in federal primary in 1978. Oregon also votes entirely by mail, dating back to 2000.

Let me be clear: Mail-in ballots don’t magically create more voters or inflate turnout. They simply make voting more accessible for those who would vote regardless. Like many American systems — and those annoying subscription emails — voters should have to opt-out of mail-in voting, not re-register for every election.

One of the most significant barriers to voting is registration. Georgia has a history of purging voters from its registration lists. Have these voters moved, died, or gone to prison? Nope. They just haven’t voted in recent elections, which I guess means Georgia has the authority to void their registration.

In 2017, more than half a million Georgians were cut from voter rolls. Iowa did something similar. In June 2023, the state left the Electronic Registration Information Center, also known as ERIC, which helps states track when voters move, die, or double-vote. It also requires states to send registration information to eligible voters.

Two years earlier, Iowa moved 249,000 registered voters to inactive status. Why? They didn’t vote in the 2020 general election. The ever-unpopular Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a law moving those voters to inactive status, proving Iowa isn’t interested in boosting turnout.

As someone who registered to vote and became an organ donor on the same day in Illinois, I can’t understand Reynolds’ logic. If I lived in Iowa, would my voter registration be canceled if I didn’t cast a ballot in the next election? Would they consider me an ‘inactive’ organ donor, too, if I didn’t donate a kidney within the same time frame?

Implementing same-day and automatic voter registration nationwide could fix this idiocy. Some states already allow same-day voter registration, and the results show higher turnout, particularly among young and first-time voters. Add online voter registration and pre-registration for 16 and 17-year-olds, and you’d have a more engaged electorate before Election Day.

If we can afford to sign men up for the draft as soon as they turn 18, we can certainly spare the money to improve voter turnout. Or is it that we care more about sending people off to fight for our right to vote than getting them to the polls where they exercise that right?

In 2020, 25 percent of voters cast their ballots early in person, highlighting the need for standardized early voting across the country. Whether you’re in Iowa or California, voters should have the same opportunities to vote early.

Forty states and Washington, D.C. require a high school civics course, which often broadly covers the state and federal governments. But in the next year, 30 million people in the U.S. will move. This begs the question: How useful are these civics courses beyond the states where they’re taught?

Moving is stressful enough. Figuring out how to vote in a new state after spending your whole life doing it a different way shouldn’t be part of that stress.

There’s also the issue of polling locations. On Native American reservations, up to 60 percent of polling places were inaccessible in recent elections. In urban areas, polling places closed or delayed opening due to staff shortages. In 2022, Chicago’s voting precincts shrunk by nearly 40 percent. This saved money, sure, but it was done without much voter input, undermining democracy.

And what about the people who work at the polls? Compensation varies widely because counties handle elections. In my hometown, high school students can make $200 working the polls for a day. Because our schools are used as polling locations, we’ve always had the day off.

However, that’s not the case for many schools. Following the lead of my hometown would force millions of parents to find child care on a day when their child could be in school while they have to work.

Globally, more than 60 percent of elections are held on weekends. Turnout on Saturdays is 73.4 percent, compared to 69.1 percent on Tuesdays. Of the 36 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member nations, 27 hold their elections on the weekend.

Many want Election Day to be a federal holiday, but that doesn’t necessarily solve the issue. Of the 78.7 million hourly workers in the U.S., many don’t get federal holidays off. So, while kids might get the day off, their parents probably won’t.

Moving Election Day to a Saturday simply makes sense. It’s what works best for most Americans. Parents already plan for their kids to have Saturdays off, so if they’re working, chances are they’ve already got childcare. Plus, only 28.1 percent of employed people work weekends, compared to 80.4 percent who work weekdays.

Finally, let’s talk funding. Local governments often receive inadequate funding for elections, leading to polling place closures, staff shortages, and outdated equipment. The U.S. spends over $93 million annually on congressional salaries but just $8.10 per voter on election administration.

If we can invest in politicians, why not in democracy itself?

Keep in mind the estimate above doesn’t account for federal funding. That said, Congress only provides funding for election administration occasionally, and often in response to a particular problem. Maybe I’m alone in this, but it’s a bit concerning to know that an election that could have grave implications on my day-to-day life doesn’t receive standardized federal funding. At least, not any that I could find.

The logic of holding Election Day on a Tuesday goes back to 1845, when most people were farmers. But no one’s traveling by horse and buggy to vote anymore.

All this to say, the current system doesn’t serve everyone equally, and it likely never will. There will always be a flaw in the system that disadvantages someone. But, by embracing reforms that make voting more accessible, we can create a system that intends to work for all — not just those who can navigate its complexities.