The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) warned Pennsylvania officials in July that the state’s election deadlines were too tight for the service’s “delivery standards” and could result in mail-in ballots being delayed for several days.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that a letter dated July 29 warned state officials that “certain deadlines for requesting and casting mail-in ballots are incongruous with the Postal Service’s delivery standards,” and could result in “a risk that ballots requested near the deadline under state law will not be returned by mail in time to be counted under your laws as we understand them.”
Current state law in Pennsylvania requires that mail ballots arrive by 8 p.m. on election day to be counted.
In a motion filed to the state’s Supreme Court on Thursday, Pennsylvania election officials asked for approval to continue counting mail-in ballots received up to three days after election day due to concerns about delays in the postal service, the Inquirer reported.