The Biggest Variable in the US Presidential Election: 'Mail-in Voting'... Most Battleground States Experience Processing Delays

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[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] As the U.S. presidential election turns into a nail-biting race, mail-in ballots have emerged as the biggest variable. In battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Georgia, where no candidate's victory has yet been confirmed, a large number of uncounted mail-in ballots remain, making it impossible to determine the outcome until the counting is complete. Amid President Donald Trump's challenges to the fairness of mail-in voting and the initiation of lawsuits, controversies surrounding mail-in ballots are expected to continue for some time, including allegations that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) deliberately refused expedited delivery of mail-in ballots as ordered by the courts.

According to foreign media including CNN on the 4th (local time), Pennsylvania still has over one million uncounted mail-in ballots. Al Schmidt, a member of the Philadelphia election board in Pennsylvania, told CNN, "More than 350,000 mail-in ballots have arrived in Philadelphia alone, and hundreds of thousands remain uncounted," adding, "We will continue counting until all ballots are tallied." In Pennsylvania, where about 88% of votes have been counted so far, the gap between President Trump (50.9%) and Democratic candidate Joe Biden (47.8%) is about 190,000 votes, and the outcome is expected to be decided only after the mail-in ballots are fully counted.

Besides Pennsylvania, most battleground states reportedly still have a backlog of uncounted mail-in ballots. According to The Washington Post (WP), in Georgia, more than 64,000 mail-in ballots from Fulton County, the state's most populous large electoral district, remain uncounted, and about 30,000 mail-in ballots in other counties are also awaiting counting. In Georgia, the vote difference between President Trump (49.8%) and Biden (49.0%) is only about 40,000 votes, making mail-in ballots a decisive factor in the outcome.

In Nevada, where an extremely close race is underway with President Trump (48.7%) and Biden (49.3%) separated by roughly 7,000 votes, the counting of mail-in ballots has been delayed, and officials have announced that no updates on the counting status will be provided until noon on the 5th. Nevada has completed counting in-person votes cast on Election Day, November 3rd, and mail-in ballots received by that day, but as of the 4th, more than 75,000 ballots still need to be counted. Furthermore, under Nevada law, mail-in ballots postmarked by the 3rd and received by November 10th are considered valid votes, so the full results of mail-in ballot counting are expected to be released only after that date.

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