USPS: "Don't delay" in returning mail-in ballots
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Workers sort mail in ballots at the Santa Clara County registrar of voters office on Oct. 21 in San Jose, California. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Voters casting ballots by mail should have them at the post office by Tuesday to ensure they are delivered by Election Day in states with a Nov. 5 deadline, the United States Postal Service said.
Why it matters: The modern "Election Day" is more like election month, thanks to the popularity of early and mail-in voting — but officials have repeatedly warned that the that USPS has struggled with delivery failures and delays, prompting concerns about voting by mail.
- Mail-in voting laws have also faced a myriad of pre-election political and legal challenges, as Republicans emphasize their focus on election integrity while Democrats seek to defend against what they see as attempts to disenfranchise voters.
Driving the news: "As in past elections, the Postal Service is ready to deliver your ballot on time. But don't delay. If you choose to vote by mail, please mail early as every day counts," the USPS said in a memo shared Monday, eight days before Election Day.
- Even for ballots postmarked after Tuesday, the release noted, USPS will continue to deploy "extraordinary measures," which are standards to accelerate delivery that started Oct. 21.
- The agency cited data from the first three weeks of October that demonstrated 99.9% of ballots were delivered within a week.
State of play: In the final days before Nov. 5, mail-in voting continues to be ensnared in legal battles across the country.
Case in point: In a blow to the Republican party, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled Monday that state officials can count mail-in ballots without postmarks received up to three days after Election Day.
Yes, but: A critical ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit struck down a Mississippi law allowing ballots postmarked before the election but arriving in the days after to be counted.
- The court sided with Republicans in its Friday ruling that ballot acceptance ends on federal "Election Day" and sent the issue, which is likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court, back to a lower court for further consideration.
- Though the decision only applies to Mississippi for now, more than a dozen states will accept and count a mailed ballot that is received after Nov. 5 but postmarked on or before Election Day, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Zoom out: In Pennsylvania, a critical swing state where officials say it will likely take days to count ballots, the state's highest court dealt a blow to a GOP challenge, ruling that voters whose mail-in ballots have been rejected for certain procedural errors can still cast provisional votes.
- The Wednesday ruling could affect thousands of mail-in votes in a state that is poised to be decided by razor-thin margins.
The bottom line: Regardless of pre-election litigation, the USPS emphasized it is prepared to deliver ballots — but time is of the essence.
Go deeper: Why Election Day has irreversibly changed
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional developments.
