Americans massively vote early: why their ballots may not be taken into account

US citizens actively vote by mail and other early voting methods. For example, in Florida, almost 70% of the total number of people who came to the polls in 2016 already used their right to vote, says "Voice of America".

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There are long lines at polling stations on the first day of early voting in Florida. The Sunshine State is one of the key ones in these elections because it is a swing state, that is, the local population does not consistently support one or another party and changes preferences from election to election. Therefore, a Republican or Democratic victory here could be decisive for the outcome of the election, since the state has many Electoral College votes - 29.

According to think tanks, Democratic candidate Joe Biden still has a slight advantage over Republican candidate, incumbent US President Donald Trump. Political analyst Jeremy Geddert says Biden has consistently outpaced Trump over the past six months. The advantage ranges from 2% to 6%.

The intensity of this year's election seems to be forcing people in Florida to vote early in record numbers.

“I've lived in Miami Beach for 25 years, my husband and I moved here from New York,” says resident Jo Manin. “And this is the most important election in my life.” I'm 80, my husband is 82. This is a big deal and we wanted to come here on the first day. I'm glad there are so many people here."

“I think early voting is a good thing,” said Miami resident Ariel Fersley. “In this way we can reduce the number of people at polling stations on voting day.” Secondly, it's convenient. Everyone can find time and come vote.”

Experts predict an extremely high turnout this year and long queues in front of polling stations. During early voting, your choice done already 75 million US citizens.

Moreover, if you decide to vote by mail, and not early at the polling station, this is fraught with two major risks, because of which your vote may not be taken into account.

Risk #1 - signature verification

Experts believe that verification of voter signatures could make it difficult to count the bulk of ballots sent by mail, reports ABC News.

“In the days following the election, signature verification will be an issue in many states,” said Tammy Patrick, a senior adviser at the Democracy Fund, a nonpartisan voter advocacy group.

Mail-in ballots in every state must arrive with the voter's signature on the envelope, an important requirement for the vote to be counted. Dozens of states analyze these signatures to ensure they match an actual voter in the database.

Trained staff on election commissions manually check each signature on the envelope, visually compare it with the electronic version of the signature of the voter associated with the driver's license or other official document.

“If the signature doesn't match, then we notify the voter that it needs to be verified,” said D.C. Board of Elections Executive Director Alice Miller. - The person who voted can fix this. We send him a special document that he must sign and send back."

According to the Brennan Center, a non-partisan institution of law and politics, 22 states notify voters and give them the opportunity to correct defects in signatures on ballots even days after the election. But 28 states, including important Michigan and Wisconsin, do not, which puts their vote count at risk.

“Every vote matters. We must make sure that every eligible American votes and has their ballot counted, even if they don't cross the t or dot the i," Patrick says.

An ABC News analysis of the last two election cycles found that more than 750 mail-in ballots were rejected nationwide — many because they lacked a valid signature or were late. During this year's primaries, more than 000 ballots were rejected for the same reasons.

“People who have no experience voting by mail have their ballots rejected at higher rates,” said Dartmouth College government professor Michael Herron. “It's a pretty big blow, and it's important right now because a lot of people are new to voting by mail.”

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The researchers say signature mistakes are often made by young people voting for the first time, as well as by minority voters. Such a mistake is rarely an attempt to cheat.

“Unfortunately, we have found that signatures can differ for a variety of reasons: age, health problems (such as handwriting after a stroke), or someone may simply be in a hurry,” said Kristen Clark, executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Pleas. “We therefore encourage officials to notify voters and provide an opportunity to resolve the issue.”

Although some states have detailed instructions for matching signatures, while others do not. And this makes some experts fear that a subjective analysis of a voter's handwriting could unfairly jeopardize their vote.

“Staff are undertrained, under-resourced and will be under enormous pressure to produce results as quickly as possible. They process thousands or millions of signatures across the state, said Brennan Center attorney Raul Macias. “When signatures are verified very quickly, errors can occur.”

On the subject: How the votes in the US elections are considered, and why the results cannot be falsified

Risk No. 2 - deadlines for receiving ballots

The much talked about delays in the mail service now could lead to the fact that the votes of some voters will not be counted due to the late delivery of their envelopes with ballots. The deadlines by which the ballot must be received by the election commission in different states, leads the publication Business Insider. In some regions, they rely on the date of the postage stamp on the envelope, in others, on the actual date the ballot was received by the commission.

Idaho: the newsletter must be received by November 3rd

Iowa: postage stamp on the envelope - placed no later than November 2

Alabama: Bulletin received by November 2

Alaska: postage stamp no later than November 3

Arizona: Bulletin received by November 3

Arkansas: Bulletin received by November 3

Wyoming: Bulletin received by November 3

Washington: postage stamp no later than November 3

Vermont: Bulletin received by November 2

Virginia: postage stamp until November 3

Wisconsin: Bulletin received by November 3

Delaware: Bulletin received by November 3

Georgia: Bulletin received by November 3

Hawaii: Bulletin received by November 3

West Virginia: postage stamp until November 3

California: postage stamp until November 3

Colorado: Bulletin received by November 3

Connecticut: Bulletin received by November 3

Illinois: postage stamp until November 3

Indiana: bulletin received before noon November 3

Kansas: postage stamp until November 3

Kentucky: postage stamp until November 3

Louisiana: Bulletin received by November 2

Maine: Bulletin received by November 3

Maryland: postage stamp until November 3

Massachusetts: postage stamp until November 3

Michigan: Bulletin received by November 3

Minnesota: postage stamp until November 3

Mississippi: postage stamp until November 3

Missouri: Bulletin received by November 3

Montana: Bulletin received by November 3

Nebraska: Bulletin received by November 3

Nevada: postage stamp until November 3

New Hampshire: bulletin received by 17:00 on November 3

New Jersey: postage stamp until November 3

New Mexico: Bulletin received by November 3

New York: postage stamp until November 3

North Carolina: the bulletin was received by 17:00 on November 12 (the new deadline was established by a court decision in October 2020)

North Dakota: postage stamp until November 2

Ohio: postage stamp until November 2

Oklahoma: Bulletin received by November 3

Columbia region: postage stamp until November 3

Oregon: Bulletin received by November 3

Pennsylvania: postage stamp until November 3

Rhode Island: Bulletin received by November 3

Tennessee: Bulletin received by November 3

Texas: postage stamp until November 3

Florida: Bulletin received by November 3

South Dakota: Bulletin received by November 3

South Carolina: Bulletin received by November 3

Utah: postage stamp until November 2.

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