More mail-in ballots are being tossed for lateness than before—an ominous warning ahead of November’s elections.
The U.S. Postal Service's capability could be what decides the November elections.
Election officials are sounding alarm bells that the snail-mail service may not be fit to handle the volume of mail-in ballots this midterm cycle. An analysis published Monday by The New York Times revealed that more mail-in ballots were tossed in 2026 and 2025 than in other years.
The Times examined some of the most heavily contested battlegrounds in 12 states---California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington---and found that ballots were discarded for lateness at a higher rate than previously recorded.
31 Comments
Freeposity@lemmy.world · 75 pts · 2d
The USPS should not be throwing out my mail no matter what. They don't throw out my electric bill when it's late, so don't fuck with my ballot.
Edit: So the USPS can make your ballot late, then throw it out for being late?
ltxrtquq@lemmy.ml · 56 pts · 2d
That's the voter suppression, yes.
limonfiesta@lemmy.world · 34 pts · 2d
SCOTUS has relatively recently ruled that a mail carrier can throw out mail of black residents, while delivering the mail of white residents, and not be held liable for any wrong doing.
QueenHawlSera@piefed.social · 6 pts · 2d
Source?
limonfiesta@lemmy.world · 23 pts · 2d
United States Postal Service v. Konan
QueenHawlSera@piefed.social · 20 pts · 2d
Thanks. For the record I never doubted you.
Of course the opinion was written by Clarence Thomas. No one hates black people more than he.
PalmTreeIsBestTree@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 1d
Uncle Tom Ruckus
DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world · 50 pts · 2d
You might need to vote in person. You might need to stand in a long line for quite a while. Your employer must, by law, give you time off to vote. It's important that your vote be counted.
Mongostein@lemmy.ca · 23 pts · 2d
If I were the employer I’d be giving people the day off with pay as long as they come back with one of those “I voted” stickers
4am@lemmy.zip · 19 pts · 2d
You’re not the employer because you actually want people voting and don’t want the fascists to make an owning class even more powerful. Employers would never make it easy for workers to vote.
nymnympseudonym@piefed.social · 7 pts · 2d
This kinds of childish, tribalist, Other-hating does nobody any good.
For the record, I've had some bosses who are excited about civic duty and make a point of it. I've had others that begrudge it. Most seem to be totally neutral on the subject.
Mongostein@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 2d
Damn I should become an employer. How do I do that?
FenrirIII@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 20h
They can and have run out of those stickers.
limonfiesta@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 2d
Some of those states are 100% vote by mail.
dan1101@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 1d
If you early vote there shouldn't be much of a line in most places. Either way it's critically important that everyone vote.
captainlezbian@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 8h
You may also have ballot drop boxes that bypass the postal service
2hundredpancakes@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 32 pts · 2d
Now that's what I'm talking about.
Steiner, like the fascist that appointed him, can't die soon enough.
CuddlyCassowary@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 2d
Most of them are in pretty convenient places too, like light rail stations. Colorado still has plenty of issues, but they’ve done a pretty great job with their voting and voter education system.
2hundredpancakes@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 7 pts · 2d
Yeah, I've also seen the boxes at libraries and other public buildings. My partner only lived in red states before and has been amazed by the differences.
Prairie_Madness@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2d
Going from Colorado to a red state the voter suppression is very obvious
CorrectAlias@piefed.blahaj.zone · 19 pts · 2d
Use ballot boxes asuch as possible. In WA, you can also print your ballot and use a dropbox, cutting the USPS out entirely.
Malica@lemmy.zip · 15 pts · 2d
I don't trust them at all. If you can, deliver your ballot by hand.
minorkeys@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 2d
None of the systems of democratic execution are equipped to deal with voters executing their rights. Its starvation by design. Increase friction to deter engagement. Invalidate votes even if cast. Remove ppl from rolls to deny them their constitutional right. The US Constitution is under siege from the GOP and Trump and they are succeeding.
WanderWisley@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 1d
This was always the plan since day 1. Don’t be surprised if Donny Is live on TV burning mail in ballots while there are armed guards at polling stations on election day.
SarcasticMan@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 1d
In Texas you can vote early from October 19th to October 30th, 7 a.m. to 7pm. There is absolutely no reason you can't find the 20 minutes it will take to vote sometime between 7am and 7pm from October 19th to October 30th. If you live in one of these counties, you can vote at any polling station in the county you reside in.
anon_8675309@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 22h
If my ballot is late they shouldn’t be doing anything with it but delivering it.
It’s illegal to tamper with mail.
Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 21h
I don't think illegal action is really that much of a problem with your government.
Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 2d
The USPS sucks so hard. We're so fucked.
Adulated_Aspersion@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1d
Is there any way to validate if your vote was counted if you mailed in your vote?
anon_8675309@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 22h
Your city should have a web page to let you check and or get notifications.
melsaskca@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 21h
melsaskca@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 21h
Good one!