MADISON – Wisconsin’s top election officials are urging the U.S. Postal Service to enact changes to ensure absentee ballots aren’t caught up in mail delays.
The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission sent a letter May 27 to Postmaster General David Steiner after two-thirds of clerks reported observing problems with the timely mail delivery of absentee ballots.
Following the April spring election, Milwaukee’s top election official said her office received an “unprecedented” number of mail-in absentee ballots the morning after the election, which could not be counted.
“We write to you today to express our concern about mail delays that threaten the ability of our citizens to exercise their right to vote,” the commissioners wrote. “While these concerns pertain to all voters, Wisconsin voters who are overseas or serving in the military are disproportionately affected by this issue.”
The commissioners wrote, “We hope you recognize that any delay in election mail can potentially deprive citizens of their fundamental right to vote” and asked U.S. Postal Service officials to enact measures aimed at ensuring ballots are delivered in time to be cast and counted.
Paulina Gutiérrez, executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, told the Journal Sentinel in April that her office received 269 mail-in absentee ballots on the morning of April 8, the day after Election Day. She said she received just 20 ballots on Election Day.
While it’s not uncommon for absentee ballots to arrive too late to be counted, Gutiérrez said the city hadn’t seen this volume before.
The delay comes after state election officials warned voters about mail delays due to a new postmark rule, staffing shortages and other budget cuts that could keep their ballots from being counted on time and have suggested returning ballots by mail no later than 10 days before an election.
Gutiérrez said of the 269 ballots she received the morning after Election Day, 17 had no postal date and 252 had postmarks on or before April 6.
In Madison, city spokesman Dylan Brogan said the clerk’s office received 20 to 50 ballots via the post office on Election Day and 107 were delivered on Wednesday morning.
A spokesperson said the Postal Service was “made aware… of ballots received by the Milwaukee Election Commission after Election Day. The Postal Service takes these issues very seriously, and we are working with local election officials.”
“Our longstanding recommendation to voters who choose to vote by mail is to mail early – before Election Day, and at least one week before the deadline by which your completed ballot must be received by your election office. Some states may recommend allowing even more time for mailing completed ballots.”
Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin elections officials urge Postal Service to fix ballot delays
Reporting by Molly Beck, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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