Florida election officials respond to mail-in ballot concerns
The U.S. Postal Service is preparing for challenges in delivering vote-by-mail ballots for the general election as President Donald Trump pushes forward with an executive order targeting mail-in voting.
“We’re going to do everything possible to get rid of mail-in ballots,” Trump said, reiterating his unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud.
The executive order directs the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to create a list of verified voters eligible to receive mail-in ballots. The Postal Service would be instructed not to deliver ballots to individuals not on that list.
While a federal judge has temporarily blocked the order and is reviewing it, she has expressed concerns that even the mention of changes to mail ballot handling could disenfranchise voters.
A whistleblower, identified as a senior Postal Service official, has revealed that a hastily developed computer system is being assembled to manage the process. The system, which has not been tested, would upload verified state voting lists to the Postal Service and assign unique barcodes to each voter for tracking purposes.
Karen Castor Dentel, Orange County Supervisor of Elections, said Florida voters should not be concerned about potential postal delivery changes.
“We are still processing all of the vote-by-mail requests that we have, and we still intend to send them all out, as planned,” Dentel said.
She noted that Florida already uses barcodes on mail ballot envelopes, which ensures a secure and efficient process.
“If there is a change or if there is a legal opinion that changes anything, we will let our voters know,” Dentel said. “We will be letting voters know every way we can if there is anything that would affect their ability to vote.”
Florida election officials remain confident that mail-in ballots will be collected and counted as planned, even as the national debate over mail-in voting continues.