Postal Service warns Missouri voters should mail ballots a week before election to count
The U.S. Postal Service has told Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s office that voters casting ballots by mail in November should send the ballots a full week before Election Day to ensure they are counted.
The July 31 letter from Thomas J. Marshall, general counsel and executive vice president for the USPS, said the Postal Service is not advising Missouri to change its election law, but that it “cannot adjust its delivery standards to accommodate for the requirements of state election law.”
Marshall advised that states such as Missouri, which require mail ballots to arrive by Election Day to count, should encourage voters to mail ballots no later than October 27, a full week before the November 3 election.
“It is particularly important that voters be made aware of the transit times for mail (including mail-in ballots) so that they can make informed decisions about whether and when to (1) request a mail-in ballot, and (2) mail a completed ballot back to election officials,” the letter states.
Marshall advised that states set the deadline for requesting a mail ballot at least 15 days ahead of the election.
Missouri’s deadline to request an absentee or mail-in ballot is October 21. The previous cutoff was October 28, but the date was moved up a week under 2018 legislation Ashcroft promoted.
“At the time, there was opposition to that change but it was quite obviously the right move,” said Maura Browning, Ashcroft’s spokeswoman.
Ashcroft’s office does not appear to have informed local election boards about the notice from the USPS.
Shawn Kieffer, director of the Kansas City Election Board, said in an email that his office was not aware of any communication from the state regarding the USPS’ recommendation that voters send their ballots by October 27.
Ashcroft’s office disclosed the letter to the media Friday after The Philadelphia Inquirer reported a similar correspondence between the USPS and the Pennsylvania Secretary of State’s office.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is now seeking a court order to ensure ballots postmarked by Election Day are counted if they are received by the Friday after the election.
The letters come amid an escalating controversy over mail-in ballots and Postal Service funding.
President Donald Trump, who has a requested a mail-in ballot in Florida, has repeatedly and baselessly claimed that increased mail voting in the 2020 election will lead to voter fraud.
Trump said this week his concerns about mail voting are the reason he’s opposed congressional efforts to provide aid to the Postal Service, which is struggling financially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas, whose mother works at a postal distribution center in Wyandotte County, called Thursday for the ouster of Trump’s appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. Her statement was in response to Trump’s comments and reports of changes to postal operations that are slowing down mail service.
She called the Postal Service an economic lifeline to rural communities and noted that many seniors and veterans rely on the independent agency to deliver their prescriptions.
“I will not stand by while this President and his cronies try to tear apart this constitutionally-mandated and extremely popular institution piece by piece in order to serve their political agenda,” Davids said. “The American people have lost all faith in DeJoy’s ability to lead the Postal Service and he must be removed immediately.”
Sen. Jerry Moran’s office said Friday that the Kansas Republican has been requesting a meeting with DeJoy since June to discuss restructuring plans, but so far those requests have gone rebuffed.
The Washington Post reported Friday that 46 states have received a letter warning about potential delays of mail-in ballots. The newspaper included Kansas on that list, but Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab’s office said it has no record of a letter from USPS.
Kansas law already allows ballots postmarked by Election Day to count if they’re received within three days.
Schwab’s spokeswoman, Katie Koupal, said the office “continues to have daily conversations, frequently multiple daily conversations, to discuss issues that might impact Kansas elections with postal officials in Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and at the federal level.”
A record 261,182 Kansas voters cast their ballots by mail in last week’s primary, according to Schwab’s office. For contrast, 36,532 voted by mail in the 2016 primary.
Ashcroft’s office said it would not have a final total of the number of Missourians who voted by mail in the primary until August 24 when the results are certified.
This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 1:21 PM with the headline "Postal Service warns Missouri voters should mail ballots a week before election to count."
