https://www.myjoyonline.com/us-election-2020-is-trump-trying-to-sabotage-postal-service-to-rig-vote/-------https://www.myjoyonline.com/us-election-2020-is-trump-trying-to-sabotage-postal-service-to-rig-vote/
International | Politics

US election 2020: Is Trump trying to sabotage postal service to rig vote

The head of the United States Postal Service (USPS) is due to give evidence before senators on Friday following allegations of attempts to sabotage this year's presidential election.

Mail boxes sit in the parking lot of a post office in the Borough of the Bronx on August 17, 2020 in New York. - The United States Postal Service is popularly known for delivering mail despite snow, rain or heat, but it faces a new foe in President Donald Trump. Ahead of the November 3 elections in which millions of voters are expected to cast ballots by mail due to the coronavirus, Trump has leveled an unprecedented attack at the USPS, opposing efforts to give the cash-strapped agency more money as part of a big new virus-related stimulus package, even as changes there have caused delays in mail delivery. (Photo by Bryan R. Smith / AFP) (Photo by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)

US postmaster general Louis DeJoy, a key ally of President Donald Trump, took control of the postal service in June and swiftly engineered cuts and operational changes that have disrupted mail delivery operations.

Critics fear widespread delays could disrupt November's election, which is expected to bring a surge of postal votes - known as mail-in ballots in the US because of the coronavirus pandemic.

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 05:  U.S. Postmaster General Louis Dejoy arrives at a meeting at the office of Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) at the U.S. Capitol August 5, 2020 in Washington, DC. Negotiations between Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows for an agreement on how to move forward on a new relief package to help people and businesses weather the COVID-19 pandemic continue today at the U.S. Capitol.  (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

According to a recent survey by the Democracy Fund & UCLA Nationscape project, 37% of registered voters are planning to cast their ballot through the post, ensuring a socially distant process.

The same survey found more Democrat voters planned to vote by mail than Republican - 48% versus 23%.

At the end of July, it wrote to 46 states warning it can't guarantee that all mailed-in ballots will arrive in time to be counted, which could render them invalid and disenfranchise a large chunk of the electorate.

They are, largely, the same. An absentee ballot is posted by someone absent from their local voting jurisdiction who requests a vote through the mail.

Mail-in ballots are when a state pro-actively sends out mail ballots to voters, regardless of whether they request it or not.

President Trump endorses the absentee ballot - in fact, he uses one to vote in Florida.

US President Donald Trump

He views mail-in ballots rather differently, warning repeatedly that it's prone to voter fraud and could corrupt the election - but there is little evidence to support this.

States have rigorous procedures to ensure the security of ballot papers.

Recent analysis by The Washington Post of three states that conduct universal mail elections found a "miniscule" rate of ballots that were potentially fraudulent.

Donald Trump claims (without evidence) that mail-in voting will create a free-for-all on cheating, forgery and theft which will lead to a rigged election.

He has speculated that Americans will "maybe never know" the election result and floated the idea of delaying the election and staging a rerun.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.