(DeJoy has since said he’ll suspend those changes until after the November election.) But in this context, drop boxes could be a lifeline for voters this year.īut that lifeline could also be yanked away.

US Postmaster General Louis DeJoy had started removing post office boxes in some states, limiting voters’ options for returning ballots by mail. Drop boxes are used in long-time all-mail election states like Oregon and Washington, where voters can simply swing by a convenient, official box-usually near a library or other community building-while running errands, and know that their ballots will be securely delivered to local election officials.īoosting the number of drop boxes is all the more crucial as concern and confusion swirl around the US Postal Service.īoosting the number of drop boxes is all the more crucial as concern and confusion swirl around the US Postal Service (USPS). High on the list for Pennsylvania is that the state provide additional secure drop boxes for voters to submit their ballots. To help each state prepare for increased absentee voting during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sightline compiled top recommendations for swiftly ramping up Vote By Mail in each state. So, this presidential election season, plagued by coronavirus complications, how is this key battleground state prepared for safe elections? We gave Pennsylvania a C- grade for mail voting access, but Pennsylvania elections officials are hustling to improve, including one simple fix that could bump up their grade and protect voters this November: Adding secure drop boxes.

In 2016, Pennsylvania’s twenty Electoral College votes hung on the margin of just 44,292 votes.

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