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Virus surges in key battleground states as election nears
In some states, voting early still has carried health risks. There are three lines trying to get up this way,” Howard-Penn said outside the Franklin County election board. Election officials in Wisconsin said the state's presidential primary provided lessons that were guiding current preparations. Minnesota election officials have recruited all 30,000 poll workers they believe are needed to run the general election. Officials in the battleground states reported no plans to close polling places, even if virus cases continue to spike.
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Pennsylvania becomes a battleground over election security
(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)HARRISBURG, Pa. – For anxiety over voting and ballot counting in this year’s presidential election, it’s hard to top Pennsylvania. “For years, we have trusted our election officials to be reliable and nonpartisan. The Republican-controlled state Legislature has so far refused to allow local election offices to start processing those ballots before Election Day. That all but ensures the vote count will continue for days, if not weeks, and perhaps delay a final result in the presidential election. Against this backdrop, election officials are trying to prepare knowing that something is bound to go wrong with some aspect of the election system.
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Records: Mail delivery lags behind targets as election nears
He said it was "to avoid even the appearance of impact on election mail." Federal judges have since ordered the Postal Service to halt all changes, although the agency said it is exploring its legal options. On-time delivery in northern Ohio, which includes Cleveland, dipped to as low as 63% in July before rising to 88% by the end of August. On-time delivery declined to as low as 79% for the Philadelphia area and to 67% for the central part of the state. Earlier this year, the Philadelphia district averaged 84.5% on-time delivery, according to the quarterly data.
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In battlegrounds, absentee ballot rejections could triple
It could be even more pronounced in some urban areas where Democratic votes are concentrated and ballot rejection rates trended higher during this years primaries. Amy Campbell, a 26-year-old University of Pennsylvania medical student, had her ballot rejected for another reason: a missing signature. Vote-by-mail rejections could be of special concern to Democrats, who have seen a surge in absentee ballot applications this year. For its analysis, the AP also collected absentee ballot data from Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. All have had absentee ballots rejected at higher rates than white and more experienced mail-in voters.