Worried About Mail Delays? Here are Four Ways to Safely Cast Your Ballot Without USPS

[CousinIT]

https://www.democracydocket.com/2020/08/usps-delays/

LINKS AT SOURCE are too numerous for me to add here. Click the link above to get them.

Worried About Mail Delays? Here are Four Ways to Safely Cast Your Ballot Without USPS
By Marc Elias on August 6, 2020

Events of the past few weeks have left many voters asking about alternatives to the US Postal Service to ensure their vote counts this November. “Cost-saving” changes made to the USPS by Trump donor-turned-Postmaster General, Louis Dejoy, led to days-long mail delays across the country. Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic shows no sign of slowing before November, leading millions of Americans to register to vote by mail to avoid voting in-person and risking their health.

The combination of these unprecedented challenges has led to widespread fear over what David Wasserman called “a perfect catastrophe of administrative overload, postal delays and voter error that could lead to millions of absentee ballots not counting.”

Voters concerned about the current crisis facing the USPS and what it could mean for their ballot arriving by Election Day have several options:

1. Vote early in person. Early voting allows voters to vote in person without waiting in crowded or long lines. Forty-one states have some form of early voting in place and may start as early as 45 days before Election Day. Many states also have weekend early voting options. Make sure to check with your local election office to see if they extended early voting due to the pandemic.

2. Use a ballot drop box. Many states and counties provide ballot drop boxes as a secure and convenient option for voters to return their sealed and signed mail ballot. Drop boxes skip the mail process entirely, allowing voters to drop off their mail ballots and have them be taken directly to county offices. Boxes are placed in many convenient locations such as outside community centers, near public transit routes or on college campuses. Check with your local election office to see if there are ballot drop boxes in your community.

3. Drop off your ballot at an election office or polling location. Almost all states permit voters to return a delivered ballot in person at their local election office, but not everyone lives close to their election office. That is why many states allow voters to drop off their signed and sealed ballots at any in-person voting location in the county. Check with your local election office to see if you can drop off your ballot at a polling location closer to your home.

4. Organize community ballot collection. Many states allow designated organizations, election officials or family members to collect a voter’s signed and sealed ballot and submit the ballot on behalf of the voter. This option is vital for high-risk voters who are unable to leave their home to cast a ballot. Check who can collect your ballot in your state.

We can’t let the current crisis facing USPS lock millions of Americans out of our voting process. With the current absentee ballot rejection rate reaching as high as 8-10%, how we cast our ballots this year matters. To beat Donald Trump and the Republicans in November, especially in battleground states, we must make a plan to vote and look to other available methods of voting—like the ones listed above—to ensure every ballot counts.

[Thekaspervote]

1. Thanks!! Great information

[lkinwi]

2. Yep, I'm dropping my absentee at the polling station.

I’m taking no chances.

[LisaL]

7. You still have to have it mailed to you.

[lkinwi]

8. I signed up for absentees for all of 2020.

[LisaL]

10. Well, I did too.

Now I am starting to regret it.

[CousinIT]

14. You can still vote in person. Just don't send in your absentee ballot.

I plan to vote early in person (with my mask and gloves) as soon as I can in October. I'm taking my own pencil and black pen too.

[LisaL]

18. Not in OH.

[CousinIT]

21. Ah. Didn't know that.

That sucks.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. A big fat K&R!

Thank you for this great post, my dear CousinIT!

[redstatebluegirl]

4. We have a wonderful mail carrier.

We are last on her route. Today she didn't pick up or deliver to us. We are waiting for some estate paperwork that was supposed to be here last week. Assholes will not allow any overtime.

[LisaL]

6. I didn't get my mail today either.

My package yesterday showed as delivered to mailbox, and it wasn't. I am starting to see a pattern here.

[LisaL]

5. Don't I have to get this ballot first?

Which still involves USPS.
1-Voting early here means longer lines than on election day because there is only one early voting place per county.
2, 3, and 4 still involve somehow receiving said ballot, which means USPS needs to work, at least somewhat.

[riversedge]

9. Use a drop box where you can after you fill in your ballot

[frazzled]

11. If at all possible ...

I think people should try to cast an in-person early vote, if it is available in your area, and if you think it is safe for you (wear mask and gloves, observe distancing, just like going to Trader Joe’s).

Because I think the need to bank a massive majority of votes to be reported on election night is extremely important. Tens or hundreds of millions of mail ballots that will remain to be counted over weeks will only give opportunity for the opposition to cast doubt and conspiracy theories about the legitimacy of the election. I do not want to give them that opportunity.

Check your municipality’s early voting capabilities and dates (ours allows voting at 50 sites across the city from October 14-November 3). If you are going to vote by mail, return or drop your ballot off as early as possible, because it takes a long time to validate signatures before your ballot can be counted. Also check your state’s rules for what happens if your signature not accepted and your ballot is thus rejected. Some states permit a hearing to reverse the decision. Others may offer no recourse to a decision.

[LisaL]

12. Our primary was cancelled because it was decided it's not safe for us to vote.

Now all of the sudden it's going to be safe? We should be able to vote by mail in a pandemic. Trump messing with USPS really pisses me off.

[frazzled]

17. I think it depends on your location

I voted during the early pandemic at an early voting site, because it seemed safe (our mid-March primary was not canceled, so it was too late to mail in, and the choice was either Election Day or early). I would not have entered if I felt it were not safe. As it turned out, there were no more than 4-5 voters there during the whole time, with 15 or more stations, and zero wait time. We already had masks and gloves, so we went for it.

I understand that many people don’t have such access, and/or that crowding or waits might make it unsafe. In such cases, I’d wholeheartedly advise them to vote by mail. We’ve applied for mail-in ballots, but may not use them, as the situation requires at the time. I think everyone should use their own judgment.

There is no one way to recommend that people vote. I just wouldn’t advise waiting till Election Day, because many sites may have to close last minute because lack of poll workers, and it could be chaotic.

[LisaL]

19. I am in OH.

In person primary literally got cancelled the evening before the primary because DeWine deemed it too dangerous to vote in person due to covid. Infection rates have only gone up since then. Well, they dipped during a lockdown but then went right back up.

[CousinIT]

13. Great advice! n/t

[CousinIT]

15. The guy who created this org - Marc Elias - was just on Rachel

He said you should feel OK voting by mail but VOTE EARLY.

If it were me (I intend to vote early in person) and I intended to vote by mail, I'd drop my ballot off at my local election office or put it in a ballot drop box.

[Retrograde]

16. 0. Know what the rules are in your state

"Many states have" and "most states allow" doesn't help if your state doesn't. And not following the rules to the letter can be a good way to get your ballot invalidated.

[LisaL]

20. It's a very good point.

Every state has its own rules. OH doesn't have drop boxes, you can't vote in person using a regular ballot if you receive an absentee ballot (and even if you don't, but it shows as mailed to you). I don't believe you can have your ballots collected by a third party either.

[CousinIT]

22. Site listing vote-by-mail rules for every state

https://www.postcardsforamerica.com/vote-by-mail.html

[LisaL]

23. Oh I know the rules for my state. And they suck.