Millions of Americans could lose their vote in elections due to mail delays

Anticipating an avalanche of absentee ballots, the United States Postal Service (USPS) recently sent out detailed letters to 46 states and the District of Columbia, warning that it cannot guarantee the timely delivery of all mail ballots in the November US presidential election. This adds new uncertainty in the run-up to elections, the stakes of which are already high. The Washington Post.

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The letters paint a grim opportunity for the tens of millions of Americans eligible to vote by mail this fall: even if people follow all of their state's election rules, the speed of delivery by the postal service could rob them of their voting rights.

The postal service has warned of possible problems before. Cost-cutting measures have already delayed mail delivery in some locations by a full week, and a new decision to decommission 10% of sorting machines has raised widespread concern that the slowdown will only get worse. Ordinary postal workers say the move is untimely and could drastically reduce the processing speed of regular mail, including letters and newsletters.

USPS sent serious warnings to most states

Some states are expecting 10 times the normal volume of election mail. Six states and the District of Columbia have received warnings that voting may be delayed for a limited number of voters. But the Postal Service has given 6 other states, including key presidential battleground states Michigan, Pennsylvania and Florida, stronger warnings that their longstanding deadlines for requesting, returning or counting ballots are "inconsistent" with the Postal Service's operations, and that voters Those sending out ballots close to these deadlines may lose their voting rights.

“The Postal Service is asking election officials and voters to think realistically about how the mail operates,” said Martha Johnson, a USPS spokeswoman.

In response to warnings from the Postal Service, several states quickly rescheduled deadlines, forcing voters to request or return ballots early, or to postpone tabulation while new ballots arrive.

Pennsylvania election officials asked the state Supreme Court to authorize the counting of ballots delivered three days after election day. But deadlines in many other states have not or cannot be adjusted, with only a few weeks left before the first absentee ballots arrive in the mail stream. More than 60 lawsuits in at least two dozen states over the mail voting mechanism are pending in the courts.

Trump has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that mail-in voting leads to widespread voter fraud and the politicization of the USPS. He said recently that he opposes emergency funding for the agency — which has repeatedly asked for additional resources — because of Democratic efforts to expand mail-in voting.

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The Postal Service's structural shock alone has made experts and lawmakers on both sides worry about timely delivery of prescription drugs and social security checks and newsletters.

“Slowdown is another tool in the voter suppression arsenal,” said Selina Stewart, senior director of advocacy and litigation at the nonpartisan League of Women Voters. - It's not a secret. We really think this is a voter suppression tactic.”

Vanita Gupta, a justice department official in the Obama administration and now president and chief executive officer of the Civil Rights Leaders' Conference, said she views the situation as "using the US Postal Service as a weapon for the presidential election."

“It is absolutely outrageous that the US Postal Service is in this position,” Gupta said.

Changes to mail

Louis DeJoy, a former chief of logistics and an ally of President Trump, took over as postmaster general at the Postal Service earlier this summer. He drastically cut overtime and banned additional travel to ensure that mail is delivered on time. Its massive reorganization resulted in the firing of some of the agency's veterans in key operational positions. And the USPS is currently decommissioning 10% of its expensive and cumbersome mail sorting machines that workers say could interfere with the processing of voting mail, according to a complaint filed by the American Union of Postal Workers and received by The Washington Post. These 671 pieces of equipment, scattered across the country, but concentrated in densely populated areas, are capable of sorting 21,4 million paper mail per hour.

The reduction in the number of machines, coupled with existing mail delays and a surge in package volumes — a boon for the Postal Service's finances but a headache for an organization designed to handle paper, not boxes — also risks undermining the agency as the election approaches and has forced lawmakers increase pressure on DeJoy to reverse his directives.

DeJoy wrote in a letter to USPS officials that the temporary slowdown was an "unintended consequence" of his efficiency efforts, but that the "discipline" he brought to the agency "will boost our performance in the election and the upcoming peak season and maintain a high level of public confidence. which we have earned for the dedication and commitment to our clients throughout our history. "

The union chief said that even without the emergency funding that Trump has promised to block, postal workers can process ballots mailed in the country with proper planning.

Johnson, a USPS spokeswoman, also said the agency was "well prepared and well equipped to deliver America's campaign mail."

The letters to the states followed the embarrassment of holding primaries by mail. This "required a renewed focus on the Postal Service's recommendations for election officials," Johnson said.

In New York, for example, a 17-fold increase in the number of mailed ballots over 6 weeks cast doubt on the results of the June primary. During the litigation, USPS officials stated that election officials dropped 34 blank absentee ballots at the Brooklyn Document Center the day before the election, leaving postal workers struggling to deliver them overnight. Some voters received ballots after the elections, and tens of thousands of ballots were initially discarded due to delays in receipt.

The letters warn state officials that the deadline for voters to request an absentee ballot is too close to election day and that "the Postal Service cannot adjust its delivery standards to comply with state election law." The letters place the burden on election officials to adjust deadlines or advise voters to act ahead of time.

Meanwhile, postal carriers warned that new cost-cutting measures at the USPS were slowing delivery of mail-in ballots in key states. Recent experience has provided a glimpse of the possible consequences: Voters—especially in urban areas like Detroit and the Bronx—complained that their absentee ballots weren't received until the last minute or weren't received at all.

Problems predate the cost-cutting measures—according to U.S. Election Assistance Commission data submitted to Congress, the top reason for disqualifying absentee or mail-in ballots in the 2016 election was late ballot returns.

But the influx of mail-order ballots fueled by orders to stay at home and practice social distancing during the pandemic has increased delays this year. In the Washington DC primary in early June, election officials drove around town delivering ballots by hand because the post office wasn't fast enough. In Florida, 18 mailed ballots arrived too late to count in the March primary. Tens of thousands of late ballots in Pennsylvania were counted only after court intervention.

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18 states and the District of Columbia facilitated or expanded access to mail-in ballot papers during the pandemic, allowing interested voters to avoid potential exposure to the virus at polling stations. These policy changes have brought the number of Americans eligible to submit postal or absentee ballots in the general election to an all-time high of nearly 180 million, of which approximately 97 million will automatically receive an absentee ballot or an absentee ballot request form by email. as calculated by The Washington Post.

Threat of rejected ballots

An analysis of USPS letters to states shows that the threat of ballot rejection due to late delivery may be highest for voters in 40 states that received severe warnings. These states are home to approximately 159,5 million registered voters.

In August, mail-order ballots are on a sorting tray at the King County campaign headquarters in Renton, Washington. Washington, one of five states that has long held general elections by mail, has not received a major warning from the USPS about the timing of ballot delivery.

According to the letters, the risk of disenfranchisement is greatest for voters who wait until close to Election Day to request or cast a ballot. The letters to 31 states say that, regardless of the deadline, voters must mail ballots no later than Oct. 27 — a week before Election Day — if they want to ensure their votes are counted.

Election authorities across the country are also installing ballot boxes and encouraging voters to use them in place of the postal service.

The USPS did not issue major warnings to five states that have long-held general elections by mail: Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

Regarding Nevada, which Trump accused in May of attempting to "cheat" the election after the state announced plans to hold a state primary by mail, the USPS provided a report on the successful conduct. The state plans to send ballots to all active voters in the general election.

On Wednesday, Aug 12, Trump tweeted, “Nevada has ZERO mail-order infrastructure. It will be a corrupt disaster if the courts do not stop it. It will take months or years. "

Voter education “requires a more proactive campaign,” said Meaghan Wolfe, an administrator for the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The state is also encouraging local election officials responsible for mailing ballots to work more than ever with local post offices.

In response to the USPS letter, Arizona changed the rules for when voters must mail their completed ballots at least 6 to 7 days before the election, Arizona State Secretary of State Katie Hobbs wrote in an email. The state of Maryland has moved its long-standing voting deadline by a full week.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft disputed the recommendation that Missouri voters who mail in their completed ballots “no later than Tuesday, Oct. 27” can be assured of arrival on Election Day. He recounted what happened to a voter in St. Louis during the state's June municipal vote - he said a woman mailed a ballot six days before the election, but it took 6 days for it to arrive at the correct address in the same place. city. The vote was not counted.

“If you mail it on Tuesday, you have no confidence that it will come back on time,” Ashcroft said. “I know this from experience.”

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