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>>> WELCOME BACK.
WE JUST SHOWED YOU RESULTS FROM
COLORADO’S PRIMARY LAST NIGHT.
A STATE WHERE THE OVERWHELMING
MAJORITY OF VOTES WERE CAST BY
MAIL-IN BALLOT.
IF IT WENT SMOOTHLY, IT WAS
BECAUSE COLORADO ILL PLEMTD VOTE
BY MAIL LONG BEFORE OUR
PANDEMIC.
IT HAS ALREADY POSED PROBLEMS IN
STATES WITHOUT A ROBUST VOTE BY
MAILE MAIL PROGRAM WITH DELAYS
IN KENTUCKY, PENNSYLVANIA AND
WISCONSIN.
SOME STATES ARE SCRAMBLING TO
FIX THOSE PROBLEMS IN TIME FOR
NOVEMBER WITH THE EXPECTATION
THAT IN-PERSON VOTING WILL BE A
SAFETY RISK IN THE MIDST OF A
PANDEMIC.
WHAT IT BAILS DOWN TO IS THAT
THE RESULTS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION ARE BEING PLACED ON THE
SHOULDERS OF THE UNITED STATES
POSTAL SERVICE, AND REPORTING BY
PRO PUBLICA SHOWS THE MAIL
SYSTEM IN THIS COUNTRY MIGHT NOT
BE UP TO THE TASK.
JOINING ME NOW, ONE OF THE
AUTHORS OF THAT PIECE.
THE ELECTIONS REPORTER AT PRO
PUBLICA.
SO THIS IS A STORY NOT GETTING
ANY ATTENTION, FRANKLY.
AND IT IS A WORRYING ONE.
THE PRESIDENT KEEPS TALKING
ABOUT FRAUD BUT THERE ARE REAL
CONCERNS ABOUT THE BAIL OF THE
UMPBL SPS TO DELIVER MAIL-IN
BALLOTS ON TIME TO VOTERS AND
THEN TO GET THEM BACK TO
ELECTION HEADQUARTERS.
SECRETARIES OF STATE, ELECTION
BOARDS, IN ORDER FOR THEM TO BE
COUNT ON TIME.
WHAT DOES YOUR REPORTING SHOW
US?
>> SURE.
WE SPENT A COUPLE MONTHS
INVESTIGATING WHETHER OR NOT THE
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE IN ITS
CURRENT CASH STRAPPED STATE
DURING A PANDEMIC IS UP TO THE
TASK OF DELIVERING AN ELECTION
THAT COULD BE CONDUCTED LARGELY
BY MAIL AS STATES GROW THEIR
SYSTEMS.
WHAT WE FOUND WAS HONESTLY
REALLY WORRISOME.
THE POSTAL SERVICE IN ADDITION
TO BEING IN FINANCIAL DIRE
STRAITS IS NOT GREAT AT HITTING
ITS LONG TIME GOALS.
IT HASN’T HIT ANY OF THE GOALS
FOR ANY TIME FIRST CLASS MAIL IN
FIVE YEARS.
FOR ELECTION MAIL, SOME AREAS,
PARTICULARLY IN SWING STATES
LIKE WISCONSIN, OHIO, ARE
DELIVERING 84% OF THEIR ELECTION
MAIL ON TIME.
SO IF YOU PLAY THAT OUT ACROSS A
NATIONAL ELECTION WITH A LARGE
ROTE BY MAIL OPERATIONS ACROSS
MANY STATES, YOU GET THOUSANDS,
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS, PERHAPS
EVEN MILLIONS OF BALLOTS THAT
GET THERE LATE.
AND AS A SYSTEM, POLITICALLY,
I’M NOT SURE WE CAN GRAPPLE WITH
THAT.
>> WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT
THOUSANDS, HUNDREDS OF
THOUSANDS, MILLIONS OF VOTES NOT
GETTING THERE ON TIME, BALLOTS
NOT GETTING THERE ON TIME, THAT
COULD BE ENOUGH TO SWAY THE
ELECTION IN ANY GIVEN DIRECTION.
SPECIALLY IN SWING STATES LIKE
PENNSYLVANIA OR MICHIGAN.
DONALD TRUMP ONLY WOULD HAVE
BEEN MICHIGAN BY A FEW THOUSAND
VOTES IN 2016.
>> SURE.
I THINK THAT’S RIGHT.
WHAT ELECTION OFFICIALS AND
EXPERTS HAVE BEEN WARNING ACROSS
THE BOARD IS GET READY FOR AN
ELECTION WHERE THE RESULTS ARE
NOT ANNOUNCED ON ELECTION NIGHT.
PART OF THAT IS BECAUSE OF MAIL
DELAYS.
WHAT VOTERS MAY NOT REALIZE IS
THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE’S
OFFICIAL ADVICE IS TO GET YOUR
BALLOT IN THE MAIL SEVEN DAYS
AHEAD OF TIME.
AND I’M NOT SURE THAT MANY
VOTERS EVEN WANT TO WAIT THAT
LONG TO FILL OUT THEIR BALLOT OR
WANT TO DELAY SENDING THEIR
BALLOT IN.
BUT THAT’S REALLY THE REALITY OF
TODAY’S MAIL.
THE POSTAL SERVICE IS MOVING
SLOWER.
IT WENT TO CONGRESS IN APRIL,
SEEING THAT IT WOULD RUN OUT OF
MONEY BY SEPTEMBER.
IT HAS SINCE CHANGED THOSE
FIGURES.
THE POSTAL SERVICE IS NOT WHAT
IT USED TO BE.
STATES LIKE COLORADO THAT YOU
MENTION AT THE TOP OF THIS, THEY
BUILT UP THEIR VOTE BY MAIL
SYSTEMS OVER A DID HE GO AID.
STATES TRYING TO GO FROM 1% OF
BALLOTS CAST TO 50, 60, 70% AND
THERE ARE BOUNDS TO BE HICCUPS
IN THAT.
WHAT WE FOUNDS IS THAT THE
POSTAL SERVICE WORKS WELL WHEN
IT IS INTERTWINED WITH STATE
ELECTION SYSTEMS BUT THAT CAN
TAKE A DECADE OR MORE.
SO A LOT OF ELECTION OFFICIALS
ARE TRYING TO FIGHT TWO BATTLES.
THEY’RE FIGHTING AN IN-PERSON
ELECTION SYSTEM THAT JUST IS
MORE EXPENSIVE, REQUIRES MORE
SOCIAL DISTANCING AND MOVES
SLOWER, AND THEY’RE HAVING TO
BUILD THESE NEW VOTE BY MAIL
SYSTEMS ON THE FLY.
THAT’S DOING TWO THINGS AT ONCE.
>> LET ME ASK YOU THIS.
IF YOU ARE WATCHING AT HOME
RIGHT NOW AND YOU’RE SAYING TO
YOURSELF, HEY, I WANT TO VOTE BY
MAIL BECAUSE I’M NOT CONFIDENT I
SHOULD BE GOING OUT AND VOTING
IN PERSON IN THE MIDDLE OF A
PANDEMIC, ARE YOU SAYING THAT
THEY SHOULD MAYBE TRY TO DROP
OFF THEIR BALLOT IN PERSON?
ARE YOU SAYING IF THEY MAIL IT
TWO WEEKS EARLY, THREE WEEKS
EARLY, THEY’LL BE IN A BETTER
POSITION THAN THEY WOULD
NORMALLY BE?
HOW CONFIDENT CAN YOU BE THAT IF
YOU MAIL IN YOUR VOTE, THAT IT
WILL GET COUNTED?
>> WELL, IF YOU LOOK AT THE
OVERALL ELECTION MAIL ON TIME
DELIVERY RATES STATS FOR THE
POSTAL SERVICE FOR ELECTION
MAIL, SOMETHING LIKE 4% TO 5% OF
BALLOTS JUST ARRIVE LATE.
IF YOU’RE COMFORTABLE TAKING
THAT CHANCE, THAT’S SORT OF ONE
THING.
THE POSTAL SERVICE IS REALLY THE
BEST MOVE.
AND THAT IS TO SEND YOUR BALLOT
IN THE MAIL AT LEAST SEVEN DAYS
AHEAD OF YOUR LOCAL DEADLINES.
IN TERMS OF REQUESTING BALLOTS,
I WOULD DO THAT AS SOON AS
POSSIBLE.
JUST BECAUSE HOW YOUR ELECTION
IS RUN IS OFTEN DEPENDENT ON WHO
YOUR LOCAL ELECTION OFFICER IS,
HOW MUCH MONEY THEY HAVE AND HOW
MUCH STAFF THEY HAVE.
THOSE ARE VARIABLE THAT’S IT IS
HARD FOR THE AVERAGE VOTER TO
SUSS OUT.
GET YOUR BALLOT IN REALLY SOON
AND SEND YOUR BALLOT IN WAY