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Federal Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, of Washington, ordered this Tuesday, in the midst of the presidential election, to intervene at post offices in several states, to ensure that all votes in the mail are sent on time.
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Five US states will define presidential elections
The resolution focuses on the nine states considered key in these elections, where polls show a tight result or where history does not always give victory to the candidate of the same party. These states are Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Arizona, and Minnesota.
The trigger for the anti-postal service rule is due to cost-cutting measures that slowed mail delivery this year and raised concerns that mail-order ballots would not be delivered on time.
The pandemic has led to voting by mail
The measure to vote by post comes after the worsening of the pandemic in the United States (USA). A historic record of over 100 million voters voiced early, with high use of the post variant to exercise voting rights.
Recent data shows that on-time mail delivery in some parts of the country has dropped to lower levels than in July, when millions of Americans were left days, even weeks, without mail.
According to the US Election Project, at least 65 million Americans voted by mail in this election.
The possibility cannot be ruled out that by following the vote count at the pace that has taken place we may have an expected winner of the US elections before the end of this day, Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/SgARPwHIfG
– Jorge Gestoso (@JorgeGestoso)
November 4, 2020
Behind the lost votes
The United States Postal Service admitted Tuesday that some 300,000 mailing cards across the country were taken for granted without being sent. The loss of that number of votes, equal to half the population of Wyoming, has alarmed organizations that defend voting rights.
The Director General of the Postal Service, Louis DeJoy, appointed by President Donald Trump, adopted a series of measures a few months ago that impacted the delivery times of mail, which was harshly criticized given the proximity of the elections.
The latest polls give Joe Biden a 7.2 point lead over Donald Trump nationwide. However, in some of the more competitive states, his advantage slightly exceeds the margin of error, so the election of the president will depend on the results of a handful of states considered “hinge”.
United States Postal Service Response
The postal service announced it could not comply with a federal judge’s order to search the vote processing centers as this would disrupt its operations during election day.
Additionally, the agency said it has conducted daily reviews of its 220 facilities that handle the electoral mail and plans to conduct further research hours before polling closes on Tuesday.
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