Late Mail Ballot Rejections Rise Past 10,000 in Michigan as USPS Delays Stoke Midterm Fears
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 31
Late Mail Ballot Rejections Rise Past 10,000 in Michigan as USPS Delays Stoke Midterm Fears
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 31
Summary
More than 10,000 Michigan mail ballots were rejected for arriving after the 8 p.m. Election Day deadline this month, nearly double the 2024 primary total.
USPS delivery delays and a Postal Service budget crisis are driving a broader rise in late ballot rejections across roughly a dozen states reviewed by the New York Times.
Wisconsin rejected about 5,000 late mail ballots in its spring primary—78% of all tossed ballots, up from roughly 2,300 and 47% in the comparable 2023 election; Washington's late ballots climbed above 20,000 from about 16,000.
The trend is hitting battleground House, Senate and governor races as control of Congress is at stake in the fall midterms.
The concern is sharpened by Trump's push to expand USPS authority over mail voting; about two dozen states have sued over an executive order that could let the agency block ballots in noncompliant states.