WASHINGTON Ahead of a presidential election that could see up to half of U.S. voters cast their ballots by mail, the U.S. Postal Service is warning some states that they need to provide more time for those votes to be counted.
The Postal Service has told at least five states — Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Missouri and Washington — there is “significant risk” voters will not have enough time to complete their ballots and return them on time under current state laws, according to correspondence seen by Reuters. The Washington Post reported that the Postal Service has warned a total of 46 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The letters highlight the possibility that a meaningful number of mail votes in the Nov. 3 presidential election might go uncounted if they are returned too late.
“State and local election officials must understand and take into account our operational standards and recommended timelines,” Postal Service spokeswoman Martha Johnson said. She did not respond to questions about how many states in total got warning letters.
Election officials are bracing for a deluge of mail ballots as many states have made it easier to vote by mail to address concerns about public gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic.
Republican President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said Thursday that he opposes additional funding to make mail voting easier.
Trump, who is trailing Democratic rival Joe Biden in opinion polls, has said without evidence that widespread mail voting could lead to fraud. However, public records show that he has requested mail ballots for himself and his wife Melania ahead of Florida’s Tuesday primary election.
Election experts say mail voting is as secure as any other method. Biden and other Democrats say Trump is trying to interfere with the election, and former Democratic President Barack Obama said he was worried that Trump was trying to “kneecap” the Postal Service.
The issue has taken on added urgency in recent weeks, as cost-cutting measures put in place by new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy have led to widespread mail delays.
Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, said on Friday that the changes could violate state laws against election tampering. She called for a criminal investigation.
TOO LITTLE TIME?
The Postal Service has warned some states that allowing voters to request ballots less than a week before the election does not leave enough time to print up the ballot, mail it to the voter and have it returned.
“There is significant risk that the voter will not have sufficient time to complete and mail the completed ballot back to election officials in time for it to arrive by the state’s return deadline,” Postal Service General Counsel Thomas Marshall wrote in a July 29 letter to Michigan’s top election official.
Half of the states allow voters to request an absentee ballot within seven days of an election. The Postal Service recommends that mail ballots should be completed and in the mail back to election offices by that point, according to Marshall’s letter.
Ohio, Michigan and several other states with tight deadlines have so far not pushed them back.
Pennsylvania’s secretary of state asked the state Supreme Court to allow ballots to be counted if they are received up to three days after the Nov. 3 election, rather than on Election Day.
Marshall also encouraged election officials to use its first-class mail service to ensure prompt delivery, rather than the cheaper and slower bulk-mail rate.
In past elections the Postal Service has given priority to all political and election mail, no matter the postage rate, according to workers and the service’s internal watchdog.
“If this letter aims to backtrack on that collaboration or the promise of prioritization of election mail, that would be very concerning,” said Tracy Wimmer, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of State, which oversees elections.
Roughly 0.25% of mail ballots were rejected in 2016 because they arrived too late, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
Problems with mail ballots have marred many primary elections this year. Voters in Georgia reported not getting requested mail ballots, while in New York a judge ordered election officials to count thousands of ballots they had rejected for missing that state’s deadline.
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