VA's Commissioner of Elections' concerns to Privileges & Elections committee echoes ongoing issues about USPS reliability with election mail. Plus: VA will get a post-election "audit."
We strongly recommend voters vote in person if at all possible.
During 2023 early voting there were 25,218 by mail ballots received where the application was approved within 120 days of the ballot being returned.
Cycle time is measured as the difference between Application Date and Ballot Receipt Date (Ballot Receipt Date - Application Date + 1).
We only looked at ballots where the cycle time was 120 days or less.
The minimum cycle time was 1 day.
Average cycle time was 42 days.
Maximum cycle time was 101 days.
The cycle time Standard Deviation was 19 days.
What does this mean?
If you want your ballot to count, VOTE IN PERSON if at all possible.
The 2024 early voting season starts when ... 20 September? Election Day is 5 November. By Mail ballots must be post-marked by Election Day, and received by the first work day after a holiday weekend, which is 12 November. Cutoff - noon? 12 November - 20 September + 1 = 54 days.
The MINIMUM cycle time for Virginia voters living in New Mexico during the 2023 General Election was 61 DAYS! We'd better get these by mail ballots in the mail as soon as possible ...
As of this morning (5 Sep) there are 229,738 ballots in a "Not Issued" status.
As a former local election official (VA) and poll watcher (PA), and campaign operative for most of the last 40 years, I remind you of Kelly's law - the more people who touch or handle your ballot, the more likely it is to be lost, destroyed, or worse. With 45 days of early voting options in Virginia, there is simply no excuse to vote by mail, other than the "convenient" opportunity of not seeing it counted.
We strongly recommend voters vote in person if at all possible.
During 2023 early voting there were 25,218 by mail ballots received where the application was approved within 120 days of the ballot being returned.
Cycle time is measured as the difference between Application Date and Ballot Receipt Date (Ballot Receipt Date - Application Date + 1).
We only looked at ballots where the cycle time was 120 days or less.
The minimum cycle time was 1 day.
Average cycle time was 42 days.
Maximum cycle time was 101 days.
The cycle time Standard Deviation was 19 days.
What does this mean?
If you want your ballot to count, VOTE IN PERSON if at all possible.
The 2024 early voting season starts when ... 20 September? Election Day is 5 November. By Mail ballots must be post-marked by Election Day, and received by the first work day after a holiday weekend, which is 12 November. Cutoff - noon? 12 November - 20 September + 1 = 54 days.
The MINIMUM cycle time for Virginia voters living in New Mexico during the 2023 General Election was 61 DAYS! We'd better get these by mail ballots in the mail as soon as possible ...
As of this morning (5 Sep) there are 229,738 ballots in a "Not Issued" status.
More to follow via a separate report!
As a former local election official (VA) and poll watcher (PA), and campaign operative for most of the last 40 years, I remind you of Kelly's law - the more people who touch or handle your ballot, the more likely it is to be lost, destroyed, or worse. With 45 days of early voting options in Virginia, there is simply no excuse to vote by mail, other than the "convenient" opportunity of not seeing it counted.
Murphy's Law - if anything CAN go wrong, it WILL go wrong - and some say Murphy was an optimist!