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The American electoral system has its peculiarities, which should become clear after several days of counting. One of them is only now, towards the end, that stands out: the possible late influence of the ballots of military personnel who are outside the United States and whose letters are accepted in most states even after the day of the elections.
His presentations are among the latest to be counted in Pennsylvania and Georgia, among others. In states where the results of Donald Trump and Joe Biden are separated by a few thousand votes, they could play a decisive role.
In the United States, it has traditionally been very important to give military personnel a choice, no matter where they are. President Abraham Lincoln had soldiers return home to vote during the American Civil War if there was no alternative.
Foreign ballots have special deadlines
In 1942, Congress for the first time passed a law guaranteeing members of the military to vote in federal elections during military operations. Since 2009, all states have a legal obligation to create a system that provides military personnel and other citizens abroad with voting documents by mail.
According to Count Every Hero, 28 states and the District of Columbia accept overseas ballots even if they arrive after Election Day. In Georgia, for example, where Trump and Biden are currently nearly even, ballots from abroad are accepted up to three days after Election Day. North Carolina will consider votes received through November 12, Pennsylvania before November 10. The only requirement is that the letters are postmarked by Election Day at the latest.
Therefore, it is to be expected that late ballots will include many votes from military personnel. According to a report by Count Every Hero, voting documents take an average of six days to arrive from abroad. The organization is a nonpartisan group that works to protect the voting rights of members of the armed forces.
Is Trump getting a boost from military postal voters?
If Trump and Biden are separated by a few thousand votes in a state, it is at least theoretically conceivable that mail-in votes from military personnel will make themselves felt. In 2016, Georgia received more than 5,600 ballots from members of the military, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, with nearly 11,000 in North Carolina, nearly 7,800 in Pennsylvania, and about 2,700 in Nevada.
Given the high turnout, these figures could be even higher this year. In Georgia, for example, the Secretary of State’s office reported that some 8,900 ballots were mailed to military voters and citizens abroad, which will be reaccepted on Friday. According to Fox News, some believe the votes could give Trump another boost. However, among the ballots, in addition to those of the military, there are also those of civilians who are abroad. In addition, returns that have already arrived were accounted for normally.
Trump may have angered many military personnel with his calls to stop the counts, but only after they had already cast their vote. “Any attempt to stop the counts or exclude vote-by-mail ballots disproportionately affects military voters,” said Count Every Hero’s Jack Noland.
