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Post by stargatebabe on Sept 11, 2024 12:01:27 GMT -6
Election officials warn that widespread problems with the US mail system could disrupt votingTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — State and local election officials from across the country on Wednesday warned that problems with the nation’s mail delivery system threaten to disenfranchise voters in the upcoming presidential election, telling the head of the U.S. Postal Service that it hasn’t fixed persistent deficiencies.
In an alarming letter, the officials said that over the past year, including the just-concluded primary season, mailed ballots that were postmarked on time were received by local election offices days after the deadline to be counted. They also noted that properly addressed election mail was being returned to them as undeliverable, a problem that could automatically send voters to inactive status through no fault of their own, potentially creating chaos when those voters show up to cast a ballot.
The officials also said that repeated outreach to the Postal Service to resolve the issues had failed and that the widespread nature of the problems made it clear these were “not one-off mistakes or a problem with specific facilities. Instead, it demonstrates a pervasive lack of understanding and enforcement of USPS policies among its employees.”
The letter to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy came from two groups that represent top election administrators in all 50 states. They told DeJoy, “We have not seen improvement or concerted efforts to remediate our concerns.”
“We implore you to take immediate and tangible corrective action to address the ongoing performance issues with USPS election mail service,” they added. “Failure to do so will risk limiting voter participation and trust in the election process.”
A message seeking a response from the U.S. Postal Service was not immediately returned.
The two groups, the National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors, said local election officials “in nearly every state” are receiving timely postmarked ballots after Election Day and outside the three to five business days USPS claims as the standard for first-class mail.
The letter comes less than two weeks after DeJoy said in an interview that the Postal Service was ready to handle a flood of mail ballots expected as part of this November’s presidential election and as former President Donald Trump continues to sow doubts about U.S. elections by falsely claiming he won in 2020.
That year, amid the global pandemic, election officials reported sending just over 69 million ballots in the mail, a substantial increase from four years earlier.
Read more @ apnews.com/article/election-2024-mail-ballots-voting-postal-service-985dd6e483fb6dc593d83255b11a9d0aSurprise, surprise! I'm amazed anyone in my area wants to vote by mail, knowing just how bad the post office is and here it is pathetic
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Post by Billy John Davy on Sept 11, 2024 12:04:08 GMT -6
the post office was never meant to facilitate a national election.
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Post by 3 Sport Town on Sept 11, 2024 14:08:41 GMT -6
the post office was never meant to facilitate a national election. It seems to have worked well in red Utah for many years. But maybe this is why Biden under performed the polls in some states in 2020, maybe he would have won in more if all the mail in ballots for him were received. I do think given there is always a chance the ballots can be lost in the mail. It is better to vote early in person than Mail in ballot. |
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Post by stargatebabe on Sept 11, 2024 17:26:17 GMT -6
the post office was never meant to facilitate a national election. Agreed |
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Post by Aesa on Sept 11, 2024 19:34:51 GMT -6
the post office was never meant to facilitate a national election. Agreed +1 |
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Post by moody on Sept 12, 2024 4:52:47 GMT -6
Election officials warn that widespread problems with the US mail system could disrupt votingTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — State and local election officials from across the country on Wednesday warned that problems with the nation’s mail delivery system threaten to disenfranchise voters in the upcoming presidential election, telling the head of the U.S. Postal Service that it hasn’t fixed persistent deficiencies.
In an alarming letter, the officials said that over the past year, including the just-concluded primary season, mailed ballots that were postmarked on time were received by local election offices days after the deadline to be counted. They also noted that properly addressed election mail was being returned to them as undeliverable, a problem that could automatically send voters to inactive status through no fault of their own, potentially creating chaos when those voters show up to cast a ballot.
The officials also said that repeated outreach to the Postal Service to resolve the issues had failed and that the widespread nature of the problems made it clear these were “not one-off mistakes or a problem with specific facilities. Instead, it demonstrates a pervasive lack of understanding and enforcement of USPS policies among its employees.”
The letter to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy came from two groups that represent top election administrators in all 50 states. They told DeJoy, “We have not seen improvement or concerted efforts to remediate our concerns.”
“We implore you to take immediate and tangible corrective action to address the ongoing performance issues with USPS election mail service,” they added. “Failure to do so will risk limiting voter participation and trust in the election process.”
A message seeking a response from the U.S. Postal Service was not immediately returned.
The two groups, the National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors, said local election officials “in nearly every state” are receiving timely postmarked ballots after Election Day and outside the three to five business days USPS claims as the standard for first-class mail.
The letter comes less than two weeks after DeJoy said in an interview that the Postal Service was ready to handle a flood of mail ballots expected as part of this November’s presidential election and as former President Donald Trump continues to sow doubts about U.S. elections by falsely claiming he won in 2020.
That year, amid the global pandemic, election officials reported sending just over 69 million ballots in the mail, a substantial increase from four years earlier.
Read more @ apnews.com/article/election-2024-mail-ballots-voting-postal-service-985dd6e483fb6dc593d83255b11a9d0aSurprise, surprise! I'm amazed anyone in my area wants to vote by mail, knowing just how bad the post office is and here it is pathetic
! Mail-in ballots were used to steal the 2020 election. They could absolutely do it again. |
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Post by stargatebabe on Sept 12, 2024 6:11:47 GMT -6
Election officials warn that widespread problems with the US mail system could disrupt votingTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — State and local election officials from across the country on Wednesday warned that problems with the nation’s mail delivery system threaten to disenfranchise voters in the upcoming presidential election, telling the head of the U.S. Postal Service that it hasn’t fixed persistent deficiencies.
In an alarming letter, the officials said that over the past year, including the just-concluded primary season, mailed ballots that were postmarked on time were received by local election offices days after the deadline to be counted. They also noted that properly addressed election mail was being returned to them as undeliverable, a problem that could automatically send voters to inactive status through no fault of their own, potentially creating chaos when those voters show up to cast a ballot.
The officials also said that repeated outreach to the Postal Service to resolve the issues had failed and that the widespread nature of the problems made it clear these were “not one-off mistakes or a problem with specific facilities. Instead, it demonstrates a pervasive lack of understanding and enforcement of USPS policies among its employees.”
The letter to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy came from two groups that represent top election administrators in all 50 states. They told DeJoy, “We have not seen improvement or concerted efforts to remediate our concerns.”
“We implore you to take immediate and tangible corrective action to address the ongoing performance issues with USPS election mail service,” they added. “Failure to do so will risk limiting voter participation and trust in the election process.”
A message seeking a response from the U.S. Postal Service was not immediately returned.
The two groups, the National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors, said local election officials “in nearly every state” are receiving timely postmarked ballots after Election Day and outside the three to five business days USPS claims as the standard for first-class mail.
The letter comes less than two weeks after DeJoy said in an interview that the Postal Service was ready to handle a flood of mail ballots expected as part of this November’s presidential election and as former President Donald Trump continues to sow doubts about U.S. elections by falsely claiming he won in 2020.
That year, amid the global pandemic, election officials reported sending just over 69 million ballots in the mail, a substantial increase from four years earlier.
Read more @ apnews.com/article/election-2024-mail-ballots-voting-postal-service-985dd6e483fb6dc593d83255b11a9d0aSurprise, surprise! I'm amazed anyone in my area wants to vote by mail, knowing just how bad the post office is and here it is pathetic
! Mail-in ballots were used to steal the 2020 election. They could absolutely do it again. I don't consider mail-in ballots to be secure. IMO, they shouldn't count but that's just my opinion and you know what they say about opinions! LOL |
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Post by gotscha on Sept 12, 2024 7:10:38 GMT -6
Mail-in ballots were used to steal the 2020 election. They could absolutely do it again. I don't consider mail-in ballots to be secure. IMO, they shouldn't count but that's just my opinion and you know what they say about opinions! LOL The best way to ensure that your vote counts is to vote in person and place it in the ballot box/machine yourself. Not early. Not by mail. IN PERSON. Voting early runs a higher risk of fraudulent 'lost ballots' as does voting by mail. PLUS, voting by mail is far less secure - unless you really trust the postal service that much. I certainly don't. |
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Post by stargatebabe on Sept 12, 2024 7:36:36 GMT -6
I don't consider mail-in ballots to be secure. IMO, they shouldn't count but that's just my opinion and you know what they say about opinions! LOL Agree 100%. The only way I will vote is in person, except for one time we had an out-of-town thingy and we voted early - didn't like it - so we try to avoid out of town thingies around election day |
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Post by moody on Sept 12, 2024 7:38:37 GMT -6
The best way to ensure that your vote counts is to vote in person and place it in the ballot box/machine yourself. Not early. Not by mail. IN PERSON. Voting early runs a higher risk of fraudulent 'lost ballots' as does voting by mail. PLUS, voting by mail is far less secure - unless you really trust the postal service that much. I certainly don't. Agree 100%. The only way I will vote is in person, except for one time we had an out-of-town thingy and we voted early - didn't like it - so we try to avoid out of town thingies around election day Agree. I have never voted absentee. I don’t imagine doing it unless I am incapacitated for some reason, or out of town like you mentioned. |
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Post by gotscha on Sept 12, 2024 7:41:33 GMT -6
The best way to ensure that your vote counts is to vote in person and place it in the ballot box/machine yourself. Not early. Not by mail. IN PERSON. Voting early runs a higher risk of fraudulent 'lost ballots' as does voting by mail. PLUS, voting by mail is far less secure - unless you really trust the postal service that much. I certainly don't. Agree 100%. The only way I will vote is in person, except for one time we had an out-of-town thingy and we voted early - didn't like it - so we try to avoid out of town thingies around election day Same here. I think the only time I ever voted absentee was when I was in college. Not really practical to drive several hundred miles in the middle of a work/school week just to vote. But I still voted. I've even put off a couple of business trips over the years to avoid conflicts with voting - at least in national elections. I'll admit I've missed a few local ones. |
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Post by stargatebabe on Sept 12, 2024 7:49:22 GMT -6
Agree 100%. The only way I will vote is in person, except for one time we had an out-of-town thingy and we voted early - didn't like it - so we try to avoid out of town thingies around election day Agree. I have never voted absentee. I don’t imagine doing it unless I am incapacitated for some reason, or out of town like you mentioned. Yeah, I don't get the draw of absentee but some folks do it every election. Hell, I'm all for cutting down the amount of time you can vote absentee. |
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Post by stargatebabe on Sept 12, 2024 7:51:46 GMT -6
Agree 100%. The only way I will vote is in person, except for one time we had an out-of-town thingy and we voted early - didn't like it - so we try to avoid out of town thingies around election day Same here. I think the only time I ever voted absentee was when I was in college. Not really practical to drive several hundred miles in the middle of a work/school week just to vote. But I still voted. I've even put off a couple of business trips over the years to avoid conflicts with voting - at least in national elections. I'll admit I've missed a few local ones. Yeah, hubby had to do some shuffling to make sure he was home on election day. Most of the time he was fine but there were a couple of times his plans backfired and the Good Lord knows if you are flying, forget about making plans! |
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Post by gotscha on Sept 12, 2024 7:58:33 GMT -6
Same here. I think the only time I ever voted absentee was when I was in college. Not really practical to drive several hundred miles in the middle of a work/school week just to vote. But I still voted. I've even put off a couple of business trips over the years to avoid conflicts with voting - at least in national elections. I'll admit I've missed a few local ones. Yeah, hubby had to do some shuffling to make sure he was home on election day. Most of the time he was fine but there were a couple of times his plans backfired and the Good Lord knows if you are flying, forget about making plans! I've never quite understood everyone's horror stories about flying. Get there early. Bring a book or something to occupy your time (work laptop, etc.). If you're delayed, just imagine how delayed your ancestors were 150 years ago traveling by wagon train. I've actually found it quite relaxing since nobody from work is bothering me constantly and I can actually get some stuff done. Whether at the airport waiting or on the plane, it doesn't matter. Bring earplugs (not headphones!) and it's amazing how the most annoying people suddenly aren't. |
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Post by stargatebabe on Sept 12, 2024 8:03:59 GMT -6
Yeah, hubby had to do some shuffling to make sure he was home on election day. Most of the time he was fine but there were a couple of times his plans backfired and the Good Lord knows if you are flying, forget about making plans! I've never quite understood everyone's horror stories about flying. Get there early. Bring a book or something to occupy your time (work laptop, etc.). If you're delayed, just imagine how delayed your ancestors were 150 years ago traveling by wagon train. I've actually found it quite relaxing since nobody from work is bothering me constantly and I can actually get some stuff done. Whether at the airport waiting or on the plane, it doesn't matter. Bring earplugs (not headphones!) and it's amazing how the most annoying people suddenly aren't. If a person plans to return home from a business trip in order to vote and the airlines is delayed/cancelled/whatever, there goes their plans to vote! No. I'm not buying it. I detest airlines and all their rules and regulations that help no one! I haven't gotten on a plane in decades and I refuse to tolerate the airlines/TYSA bullshit. I jhave a horror story about Northwest Airlines and TSA out of Detroit Airport and I'm never going through that bullshit again for anyone! |
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