The US Post Office Has Sent 122 Million Ballots For US Elections

The head of the United States Post Office's (USPS) dispatch department, Kristin Seaver, said it had sent 122 million ballots on Thursday, October 29, 2020, for the US elections on November 3. This number is higher than the ballots sent in the previous week, which amounted to 100 million.

USPS prioritizes the delivery of ballot papers which result in the delay in sending other letters.

"We recognize that our focus and priority on the election ballot has a short-term impact on the overall timely performance of other products across the network," Seaver said.

Previously, more than 80 million Americans have voted in the presidential election. This number includes more than 51 million postal elections. The Covid-19 pandemic has seen the number of US citizens voting by post soar.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused the postal election of being prone to fraud, however, Trump has provided no concrete evidence for his claim. Meanwhile, experts say cases of fraudulent delivery of ballots by post are rare.

USPS ensures to immediately send ballots so there is no delay in the counting of votes. One way to do this is to keep sending letters on Sundays.

The US Postal Service does not recommend sending ballots less than seven days before the state deadline. Some states accept ballots if they are postmarked on Election Day, while others require a receipt at the time.

US District Judge Emmet Sullivan has ordered the USPS to release daily reports on mail deliveries, participate in daily court conferences and take other steps to ensure timely delivery of US election ballots.

The two presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, are currently seeking to win electoral votes in Florida, a state that is a battleground for elections.

Florida is the go-to for Trump, who has almost no path to the 270 electoral vote without winning the state where he beat Hillary Clinton by 1.2 percentage points in 2016, CNN reported.

Trump campaigned Thursday afternoon in Tampa, part of Florida's key swing voters region. At the same time, Joe Biden is campaigning in Broward County, South Florida, a base for a very large Democratic voter where he will seek to make a big fortune on election night, before he visits Tampa afterwards.