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Voting by mail is actually very secure, despite what the President says. However, if people don't trust that their votes will be counted, that's a full-blown crisis of democracy. With millions of Americans turning to mail-in voting, many for the first time, because of the coronavirus pandemic, that means doubts about the ability of the USPS to deliver mail equal doubts about the election.
Related: What you need to know about voting by mail
Vote early! On Friday, we learned USPS has notified states that some mail-in ballots are at risk of not being counted.
From CNN's Ellie Kaufman:
Multiple states received communications from the USPS general counsel outlining standard mail delivery times and prices leading up to the November election and warning secretaries of state that election laws established by the states would not necessarily guarantee that mail-in ballots will be received in time to be counted.
CNN obtained letters sent to Washington, Pennsylvania, California and North Carolina. The Utah lieutenant governor's office also confirmed to CNN that it received a letter at the end of July. The Washington Post reported 46 states and Washington, DC, all received similar warnings.
USPS General Counsel Thomas Marshall wrote to California's secretary of state that there is "a significant risk that some ballots will not be returned by mail in time to be counted under your laws as we understand them."
The letters suggest election mail be sent by first class mail, at a higher rate than the nonprofit rate most states use, an obstacle for cash-strapped states dealing with the pandemic.
The slowdown. Meanwhile, in a Pennsylvania court filing, it was alleged that slower USPS delivery times are a likely outcome of recent changes put in place by the post office that have been criticized for putting at risk the ability to conduct vote by mail across the country.
Pennsylvania may extend its deadline to receive ballots to up to three days after the election, provided they are mailed by Election Day.
See below for more on deadlines, but just remember not to wait 'til the last minute to vote by mail. And if you want to know how to get an absentee ballot, there are links below
The USPS crisis is not just about ballots. The saddest mail story you'll read today has to do with a neighborhood in Southeast Washington, DC, where they aren't getting mail at all.
Knee-capping the mail. Former President Barack Obama, appearing on a podcast, accused President Donald Trump of trying "starve" the postal service.
"What we've seen in a way that is unique to modern political history is a President who is explicit in trying to discourage people from voting," Obama said. "What we've never seen before is a President say, 'I'm going to try to actively kneecap the postal service to encourage voting and I will be explicit about the reason I'm doing it.'"
"That's sort of unheard of," he said.
After saying on Thursday on Fox News he was in
