More mail-in ballots are arriving late and not being counted in key states, report reveals

The rate at which mail-in ballots arrived late and went uncounted increased in last year’s general elections and this year’s primaries, according to The New York Times.At least 12 states holding House, Senate and/or gubernatorial races saw more late mail-in ballots go uncounted – a potential result of the U.S. Postal Service trying to run on a tight budget and implement structural changes. In data reviewed by the New York Times, more than 10,000 mail-in ballots were rejected from Michigan’s primary election earlier this year – more than double the number rejected in 2024. Similar situations have unfolded in states such as Washington, where the number of late mail-in ballots increased by 4,000 between 2024 and 2026. In Wisconsin, the number of late mail-in ballots increased by 2,700 between 2023 and 2026. President Donald Trump has sought to use the U.S. Postal Service to restrict mail-in ballot voting with less than two months until the midterm elections. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to restrict mail-in ballot voting (AFP/Getty)The Independent has asked the U.S. Postal Service for comment. The president is currently locked in a battle with federal judges over his efforts to create a national voter roll and then require USPS to deliver ballots only to those eligible to vote.Trump, who has consistently claimed without evidence that mail-in voting results in mass voter fraud, signed an executive order earlier this year directing the USPS to carry out his orders.Democratic lawmakers and voting advocacy groups have sought to stop Trump from reshaping mail-in ballot voting. The method of election participation exploded in popularity during the pandemic when in-person activities were restricted. Judges who have blocked the executive order have warned the new rule could disenfranchise voters. The Trump administration is appealing. Even before the president’s recent intervention with the postal service, it was facing a slowdown. For nearly 10 years, USPS has been operating at a fiscal loss, and the agency’s leadership has warned it will run out of money, according to the Brookings Institute. Cost-cutting measures, such as changes to its postmarking process and fewer workers, have contributed to slower mail. The president is currently locked in a battle with federal judges over his efforts to create a national voter roll and then require the U.S. Postal Service to deliver ballots only to those eligible to vote (AFP/Getty)In a statement to theTimes, USPS refuted allegations that the agency has become slower, noting that more than 95 percent of mail-in ballots have arrived on time in recent elections.“There are any number of factors that may impact the timeliness of a returned ballot,” the statement read, according to the Times. “As such, our consistent message to voters who choose to vote by mail is to mail early.”State election officials have already implemented measures to increase the pace of mail-in ballots and alert voters. Ricky Hatch, a Republican election official in Utah, told theTimes that he’s encouraging voters to send in their ballots earlier to avoid slowdowns.Election officials have encouraged voters to submit their mail-in ballots earlier to prevent Postal Service slowdowns from keeping their vote from being counted (AFP/Getty)“We’ve definitely morphed over time from going from ‘Hey, get your ballot in before the deadline’ to ‘Mail your ballot at least a week early, if you want to have it counted,’” Hatch told the newspaper.Colorado’s Secretary of State, Jena Griswold, told the Times that the state had increased the number of drop boxes by 78 percent.Democratic Senator Michael Bennett told Colorado voters on X that “their mail-in ballots will arrive in time to cast their votes in the midterm elections.”