The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) warned Pennsylvania officials in July that the state’s election deadlines were too tight for the service’s “delivery standards” and could result in mail-in ballots being delayed for several days.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that a letter dated July 29 warned state officials that “certain deadlines for requesting and casting mail-in ballots are incongruous with the Postal Service’s delivery standards,” and could result in “a risk that ballots requested near the deadline under state law will not be returned by mail in time to be counted under your laws as we understand them.”
Current state law in Pennsylvania requires that mail ballots arrive by 8 p.m. on election day to be counted.
In a motion filed to the state’s Supreme Court on Thursday, Pennsylvania election officials asked for approval to continue counting mail-in ballots received up to three days after election day due to concerns about delays in the postal service, the Inquirer reported.
Pennsylvania election officials did not immediately return a request for confirmation from The Hill.
Should the court agree, the results of one of the most hotly-contested states in the 2020 election could be unclear for several days after the election is held, leading potentially to uncertainty as to the victor of the presidential election.
President Trump
Donald John TrumpNew Bob Woodward book will include details of 25 personal letters between Trump and Kim Jong Un On The Money: Pelosi, Mnuchin talk but make no progress on ending stalemate | Trump grabs ‘third rail’ of politics with payroll tax pause | Trump uses racist tropes to pitch fair housing repeal to ‘suburban housewife’ Biden commemorates anniversary of Charlottesville ‘Unite the Right’ rally: ‘We are in a battle for the soul of our nation’ MORE won Pennsylvania by a narrow margin over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonThe Hill’s Campaign Report: Biden, Harris make first public appearance as running mates Trump campaign spox rips GOP congressman over rejection of QAnon conspiracy Biden hits back after Trump’s attacks on Harris MORE in 2016.
News of the USPS’s warning to Pennsylvania’s election officials come as lawmakers on Capitol Hill have raised concerns about delays in mail delivery amid Postmaster General Louis DeJoy‘s reorganization efforts at the Postal Service.
Many Democrats and critics of DeJoy’s efforts argue the changes endanger the ability for states to carry out mail-in voting systems that have been expanded in several states due to concerns about in-person voting amid the coronavirus pandemic.
President Trump has opposed efforts to expand mail-in voting, claiming repeatedly that the practice will cause voter fraud. However, there is little evidence to suggest that mail-in voting leads to voter fraud.
The president also suggested on Thursday that he was unwilling to agree to a deal with Democrats to fund the Postal Service in the next coronavirus legislation because it would help universal mail-in voting in November.
“They want $25 billion for the post office. Now, they need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,” Trump said Thursday during a Fox Business interview.
“Now in the meantime, they aren’t getting there. By the way, those are just two items. But if they don’t get those two items that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting, because they’re not equipped to have it.”
“Now, if we don’t make a deal that means they don’t get the money. That means they can’t have universal mail-in voting,” the president continued. “They just can’t have it. So, you know, sort of a crazy thing.”
Trump later on Thursday told reporters at a press conference that he would be willing to sign coronavirus legislation that includes funding for the postal service, but rejected the idea that the agency would reverse policies that worry Democrats.
