MEDELL-N, Colombia – Electorate panic calls arrive regularly in November, just two or three days before the election, says Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, founder of the nonpartisan Overseas Vote Foundation.
This year, a wave arrived in August, a weight of the electorate asking: Where is my ballot ?, How can I vote from abroad?How can I do this with the U. S. Postal Service?America?
“This is an indication of what I would call voter hysteria,” the head of the electoral rights organization said. “Come red. They see the horror, listen to the headlines and panic.
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Congressional Democrats have argued that delays and operational adjustments to the postal service threaten the agency’s ability to deal with a build-up of ballots by mail, which is expected because the COVID-19 pandemic has led many states to expand mail voting to reduce crowds. Election Day.
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Although PostMaster Louis DeJoy promised in August to suspend some operational adjustments until the end of the election and all electoral mail would be delivered on time, many of the 6. 5 million eligible American civilian electorates living remain concerned.
“If the U. S. government was looking for a dagger at the center of voting abroad, it found out with that,” Dzieduszycka-Suinat said.
The pandemic has plunged American voters into a complex maze of restrictions, closures, and delays.
Live voters voted largely through absentee voting, depending on the state in which they vote, this procedure varies in complexity, for some it is as undeniable as registering and archiving documents online, for others it would possibly be a multi-month process of physically sending voting fabrics by foreign mail.
Twenty-one U. S. states and territories have been able to do so. But it’s not the first time They demand that their electorate return their ballots by mail or by strike ballots in the diplomatic suitcase of the embassies.
But embassies in the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala and Peru have suspended the luggage storage service. In the Dominican Republic in the Dominican Republic, this may be only 250,000 U. S. voters.
Others who accept ballots say there may be a delivery time of 4 to six weeks.
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Even then, mobility restrictions can make access to embassy mail more unlikely, said Jennifer Earll, a 49-year-old Seattle voter who moved to Panama five years ago. COVID-19 lockdown.
She also can’t go home because she said her husband was receiving chemotherapy in Latin America and maybe not in the United States.
Although Earll was able to submit his survey online and did so in past elections, he said he had already experienced setbacks in the process.
“Those who have to physically send the ballots somewhere, dear, I don’t know,” he said. “I hope it works for you, because a lot of other people are involved in this specific election. “
Panama is one of 63 countries that have suspended mail or reported interruptions with the United States due to the pandemic, many others already have long delays or unreliable courier service, such delays are the main cause of rejection of ballots abroad, according to the federal election assistance program.
Madeline Schwartz, 24, planned to fly from Dublin, Ireland, where she works as a film editor, to Oregon in November to vote in the 2020 elections. With the coronavirus, that’s changed.
In early August, he applied for his survey by foreign mail. Although he started the procedure early, he said he became involved in that “external forces” or long mail delays can simply silence his voice in this election.
“It’s a little scary (the possibility) that my vote may not end counting,” he said. “I’m a person, and if the USPS breaks down, there’s not much I can do to make sure my survey is there It’s about accepting a lot as true in a flawed system.
While messaging like FedEx and DHL are another option, you can charge up to a lot of dollars.
“We want a healthy postal service,” said Marylouise Serrato, executive director of U. S. Citizens Abroad. “This is essential for all voters, but especially for voters abroad, because it is the only way to vote. “
U. S. citizens have heard from the electorate who submitted their voting requests weeks ago and have not yet obtained confirmation. He wrote a letter to Congress and the Trump administration, encouraging them to take additional precautions to make sure the votes are counted.
Accessibility to mail was very important for the electorate in past elections. Citizens living in countries with more reliable postal systems are 65% more likely to vote, according to the knowledge of the Federal Voting Assistance Program. This is especially true for the approximately 1 million army. eligible service members to vote abroad.
However, given the barriers, state citizens are thirteen times more likely to vote than citizens living abroad.
But the demographics of American expats have a developing electoral voice in recent years, Dzieduszycka-Suinat said, especially in major undecided states.
In 2014, voter turnout of the foreign electorate was so low that it almost seemed that other people did not know they had the right to vote outdoors in the country, he said, but between 2014 and 2018, civilian voting increased by 322%. , based on knowledge of electoral management and the ballot.
“The electorate abroad has learned that they can participate,” Dzieduszycka-Suinat said, “and that makes a big difference. “
Andrew Jordan, a 33-year-old Arizona voter and instructor in Medellin, Colombia, is among those who voted for the first time this year; he lived in China in past elections but never voted from there, which he deeply regrets.
“I didn’t even know that voting was an option when I was in Shanghai,” he said. “I felt that I lacked the opportunity to exercise a freedom that is in fact essential. “
In 2020, he said, “he doesn’t know if he could live alone” if he didn’t vote, but when he started asking for his ballot, he said he found the procedure confusing and the next steps were unclear. also a frustration expressed through many other voters.
“I have no idea what will happen when we prepare the election,” Jordan said. “What if this election doesn’t come?When will I get confirmation that you’re here?. . . this is still very vague.
Arizona is considered a battlefield state in 2020, as were Florida, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Texas, which were among the states with the largest population of foreign voters in 2018. In general, almost part of Americans’ votes were sent to undecided states. In 2016, knowledge of ballots on electoral management and voting demonstrated this.
“This can be very important, because if there are closed elections, voting can be the vote that tips the scales,” Serrato said.
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