User:Jonathan with U.S. Postal Service/USPS Coronavirus and voting by mail

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Coronavirus pandemic and voting by mail (current version)

See also: 2020 United States Postal Service crisis

Voting by mail has become an increasingly common practice in the United States, with 25% of voters nationwide mailing their ballots in 2016 and 2018. The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 was predicted to cause a large increase in mail voting because of the possible danger of congregating at polling places.[1] For the 2020 election, a state-by-state analysis concluded that 76% of Americans were eligible to vote by mail in 2020, a record number. The analysis predicted that 80 million ballots could be cast by mail in 2020 – more than double the number in 2016.[2] The Postal Service sent a letter to 46 states in July 2020, warning that the service might not be able to meet the state's deadlines for requesting and casting last-minute absentee ballots.[3]

The House of Representatives voted to include an emergency grant of $25 billion to the post office to facilitate the predicted flood of mail ballots.[4] Trump conceded that the post office would need additional funds to handle the additional mail-in voting, but said he would oppose any additional funding so that "universal mail-in voting" would not be possible.[5] On August 14, 2020, President Trump said he was willing to approve USPS funding if concessions were made to some funding asks in coronavirus relief package.[6]

References

  1. ^ Editorial Board (June 15, 2020). "Coronavirus makes voting by mail even more important". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 16, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  2. ^ "A Record 76% of Americans Can Vote by Mail in 2020". The New York Times. August 14, 2020. Archived from the original on August 16, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  3. ^ Phillips, Morgan (August 14, 2020). "USPS warns 46 states it cannot guarantee mail-in ballots will arrive in time for election". Fox News. Archived from the original on August 16, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  4. ^ Sprunt, Barbara (August 13, 2020). "Trump Opposes Postal Service Funding But Says He'd Sign Bill Including It". NPR. Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  5. ^ Bogage, Jacob (August 12, 2020). "Trump says Postal Service needs money for mail-in voting, but he'll keep blocking funding". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  6. ^ Samuels, Brett (August 14, 2020). "Trump says he'll sign USPS funding if Democrats make concessions". TheHill. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.

Coronavirus pandemic and voting by mail (revised version)

See also: 2020 United States Postal Service crisis

Voting by mail has become an increasingly common practice in the United States, with 25% of voters nationwide mailing their ballots in 2016 and 2018. The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 was predicted to cause a large increase in mail voting because of the possible danger of congregating at polling places.[1] For the 2020 election, a state-by-state analysis concluded that 76% of Americans were eligible to vote by mail in 2020, a record number. The analysis predicted that 80 million ballots could be cast by mail in 2020 – more than double the number in 2016.[2] The Postal Service sent letters to 46 states in July 2020, warning that the service might not be able to meet each state's deadlines for requesting and casting last-minute absentee ballots.[3][4]

The House of Representatives voted to include an emergency grant of $25 billion to the post office to facilitate the predicted flood of mail ballots.[5] Trump conceded that the post office would need additional funds to handle the additional mail-in voting, but said he would oppose any additional funding so that "universal mail-in voting" would not be possible.[6] On August 14, 2020, President Trump said he was willing to approve USPS funding if concessions were made to some funding asks in coronavirus relief package.[7] The $25 billion emergency grant bill was introduced in the Senate by Susan Collins, but never reached the floor for a vote.[8][9]

A March 2021 report from the Postal Service's inspector general found that the vast majority of mail-in ballots and registration materials in the 2020 election were delivered to the relevant authorities on time.[10][11] The Postal Service handled approximately 135 million pieces of election-related mail between September 1st and November 3rd, delivering 97.9% of ballots from voters to election officials within three days, and 99.89% of ballots within seven days.[10][12]

References

  1. ^ Editorial Board (June 15, 2020). "Coronavirus makes voting by mail even more important". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 16, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  2. ^ "A Record 76% of Americans Can Vote by Mail in 2020". The New York Times. August 14, 2020. Archived from the original on August 16, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  3. ^ Phillips, Morgan (August 14, 2020). "USPS warns 46 states it cannot guarantee mail-in ballots will arrive in time for election". Fox News. Archived from the original on August 16, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  4. ^ Cox, Erin; Viebeck, Elise; Bogage, Jacob; Ingraham, Christopher (August 14, 2020). "Postal Service warns 46 states their voters could be disenfranchised by delayed mail-in ballots". Washington Post. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  5. ^ Sprunt, Barbara (August 13, 2020). "Trump Opposes Postal Service Funding But Says He'd Sign Bill Including It". NPR. Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  6. ^ Bogage, Jacob (August 12, 2020). "Trump says Postal Service needs money for mail-in voting, but he'll keep blocking funding". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  7. ^ Samuels, Brett (August 14, 2020). "Trump says he'll sign USPS funding if Democrats make concessions". TheHill. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  8. ^ "S.4174 - Postal Service Emergency Assistance Act". Congress.gov. July 2, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  9. ^ Mazzenga, David (January 22, 2021). "Commissioners seek remedy to postal delays". Tri-County Independent. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Naylor, Brian (March 9, 2021). "Postal Service Delivered Vast Majority Of Mail Ballots On Time, Report Finds". National Public Radio. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  11. ^ "Service Performance of Election and Political Mail During the November 2020 General Election" (PDF). USPS Office of Inspector General. March 5, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  12. ^ "New USPS election division will oversee mail-in ballots". Associated Press. July 28, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
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