during the 2020 u.s. coronavirus pandemic, ralston strongly opposed expanding use of mail-in ballots, under the reasoning that it would increase turnout, the possibility of fraud, and hurt republican candidates. according to ralston, "this will be extremely devastating to republicans and conservatives in georgia. every registered voter is going to get one of these.  this will certainly drive up turnout."[33][34] ralston later clarified that his concerns were strictly about the likelihood of fraud: "its really not a question about higher turnout... its just that the election needs to be secure and it must have integrity. if it doesnt, i think our chances obviously are problematic.[35]
United States