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Bottom line: If you have a ballot in the mail, you probably shouldn’t send it.
But using USPS at this point is risky. Fortunately, there are other alternatives including mailboxes, early voting locations, or outdated voting on Election Day at a polling place.
That’s a repeated recommendation by election experts and government officials to CNN in recent days.
Kathy Boockvar, the secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday that while her state can count ballots received by mail through November 6 (three days after Election Day), she prefers that people just drop off their ballots. .
“At this point, we have a bye week, right? We’ve all heard stories of ballots being delayed in the mail. I don’t want anyone to miss out on voting, so I want every voter who has the ability to deliver it. in person, “Bockvar said.
In most places, voters can also turn in their absentee ballots or mail them directly to their polls to avoid potential mail delays. Usually there is also the option to vote early or on Election Day. Repeat: the mailing window is almost closed.
In states that allow counting of ballots received after Election Day, including battlefield states of Ohio, Iowa, and Nevada, it is still possible to use the postal system and be outside of the recommended time frame of seven days.
Still, the USPS is dealing with a lot of ballots. CNN’s Paul Murphy has been tracking their efforts to get them delivered on time.
- USPS created a National Elections Task Force and Local Elections Task Force that are comprised of local managers and union officials.
- These local working groups meet daily; The National Elections Mail Task Force meets every Thursday.
- USPS has told local managers that they are “authorized and expected” to use extraordinary measures to “expedite ballot delivery” through Nov. 24.
- Local managers are expected to take the ballots that arrive at the post offices (from the postmen who pick them up or those left in the letter collection boxes) and post them postmarked, and then deliver them directly to the offices electoral. In some cases, they do it several times a day.
