The U.S. Postal Service says it is unlikely it will be time to request, complete and return e-mail ballots in Pennsylvania to be counted before the November 3 presidential election.
Thomas J. Marshall, general counsel and executive vice president of the agency, warned in a July 29 letter to Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar of “a risk that votes cast in the vicinity of the deadline under state law will not be returned by mail. to count among your laws as we understand them. “
The letter was released Thursday in a motion that is part of an ongoing lawsuit by a group of Pennsylvania voters who want state officials to extend the counting line after election day as a result of expected delays by the U.S. Postal Service for postal service. votes.
The USPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night.
State officials, including Boockvar, said in the submission Thursday that the plaintiffs were correct in claiming there would be postal delays; State officials now say the deadline for receiving ballots should be extended to three days outside November 3, as long as there is no evidence that a vote was mailed after election day.
The postal service sent a similar letter and warning to Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman, the Spokane Spokesman Review reported Monday.
Concerns about delays by mail and whether votes sent through the Postal Service will be counted come amid a political battle over providing funding for the agency so it can work together to handle the extra volume.
Pennsylvania passed a law last year allowing all of its voters to vote by mail. Social distance because of the pandemic has inspired coast-to-coast officials to limit polling stations and encourage citizens to use the mailbox.
But President Donald Trump believes the American post-in-vote tradition, with roots as far back as the Civil War, invites fraud. There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the United States, according to numerous surveys and surveys.
He has promised to block additional funding – $ 3.6 billion proposed by Congress Democrats – for the Postal Service.
“Well, they need that money to run the post office so it can take all those millions and millions of ballots,” Trump said Thursday on Fox Business Network. “But if they don’t get those two items, that means you can not have universal mail-in-voice because they are not equipped to have it.”
Trump’s presidential campaign is working to block Nevada’s expanded mail-in voting plans.
In June, a major Trump donor, Louis DeJoy, was installed as postmaster general, and over the weekend he announced a major shakeup of the service’s top leadership.
Pennsylvania has announced that voters can apply for a lottery no later than October 27.
Marshall’s letter casts doubt on the time frame, saying the Postal Service’s “delivery standards” are “incompatible” with those deadlines.
He advised that completed ballots will be mailed no later than October 27 so that they can meet and count the election day deadline.
The submission by officials states that a new development that the judge in the case would suggest a three-day deadline extension must approve completed votes to be returned so that they can be counted.
“Respondents do not expect such an expansion to cause a significant delay in the reporting of Pennsylvania’s election results,” it states.
One of the Trump administration’s objections to voting by mail is the fear that it will delay the election and doubt the results.
“Are all these stories equal about the fact that these elections will be fraudulent, they will be fixed, they will be rigged?” Trump said July 30. “And everyone looks at it, and a lot of people say, ‘You know, that’s probably going to happen.'”
Geoff Bennett contributed.
