Postal Service anticipating 'uptick in ballots,' recommends voting by mail Tuesday
The United States Postal Service said it is anticipating an “uptick in ballots” and recommends that if people are going to vote by mail, they do it by Tuesday.
“We continue to recommend that is a good common-sense measure for voters who choose to mail in their ballots to do so before Election Day and at least a week before their election office needs to receive them,” the Postal Service said in a release Monday. “If a ballot is due on Election Day, the Postal Service recommends mailing the ballot by this Tuesday (October 29).”
The service said it anticipates an uptick in ballots being sent by mail in the coming days and said its employees are working to ensure that each person who chooses to cast their ballot via the mail service has their vote delivered “quickly and securely.”
“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 agency said.
The service said it will deploy “extraordinary measures” because they expect an influx of ballots to be returned in the coming days.
The agency’s measures began on Oct. 21, and they will continue nationwide through Election Day and extend until the last day that each state accepts mail-in ballots. The measures include extra deliveries and collections, special pickups, specialized sorting plans at processing facilities to “expedite delivery” to the county boards and local handling and transportation.
In the 2020 presidential election, the agency delivered nearly 100 percent of ballots within a week. Since it was the COVID-19 pandemic, about 43 percent of voters cast their ballots via mail.
That number isn’t expected to be as high this year, but some states have expanded their mail-in ballot capabilities, so more people have access to the voting form in this election.
With early voting underway across the country, several states have seen record-breaking numbers of voters casting ballots. In Georgia, for example, more than 50 percent of the voter turnout from 2020 have already cast ballots. Most voters cast ballots in person, which was to be expected.
Still, the Republican Party encouraged its supporters to vote early and vote by mail, breaking from its past criticisms of the method. U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has spent months assuring voters that if they choose to vote by mail, their ballot is safe with the Postal Service.
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