Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
All Eyes On The Many Ballots Sent By Mail During Pandemic
CNN: Crush Of Mail-In Ballots Slows Count In Key States; Some Battlegrounds To Resume Counting Wednesday
Four key battleground states -- Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan and Georgia -- began Wednesday with tens of thousands of absentee ballots uncounted, leaving the White House race between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden up in the air. Election officials in some states, including Nevada and Georgia, called it a night and planned to resume the count in the morning, while some counties in Pennsylvania weren't even to start tabulating their mail-in votes until later Wednesday morning. The mail-in ballots, which smashed records this year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, are expected to favor Biden, whose campaign encouraged Democrats to vote early, while in-person votes on Election Day may have given Trump an advantage. (Schouten and Herb, 11/4)
USA Today: US Postal Service Blows Court-Ordered Deadline To Check For Missing Ballots. About 300,000 Can't Be Traced
The U.S. Postal Service blew a court-ordered deadline Tuesday to sweep mail-processing facilities in more than a dozen states for missing election ballots that could number in the hundreds of thousands. U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington ordered the sweep Tuesday morning after the Postal Service said its delivery performance had dropped over the past five days and could not say whether more than 300,000 ballots received in its facilities had been delivered. The sweep was to happen in 12 postal districts, including in battleground states Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. (Voyles Pulver, 11/4)
The Washington Post: Here’s What We Know About Key States That Are Still Counting Ballots
As expected, the decision by a record number of Americans to vote by mail this year has slowed ballot counting in many parts of the country, with election officials cautioning that some results may not be available until Wednesday or later. Here’s where things stand in several closely watched states. (Kornfield, Ye Hee Lee and Thebault, 11/4)
In related news on mail-in ballots —
USA Today: Fact Check: Trump Ballots Were Not Thrown Out As Claimed By Fake Poll Worker
Fears surrounding ballots have circulated widely this election season and one viral social media post claims they are true. "Been working at a poll station in Erie county, PA all morning. A lot of people have already voted today :)" writes @omg_seabass in an Instagram story shared Tuesday. The innocuous comment is then followed by a remark of grave concern. "I've thrown out over a hundred ballots for trump already!! Pennsylvania gonna turn blue 2020!!" Screenshots of the story were quickly shared all over Twitter, where it gained significant attention among the Trump campaign's fanbase in a now deleted tweet, and Facebook, the latter especially where it has received over 650 shares. (Fauzia, 11/3)
Fox News: Was My Vote Counted? A State-By-State Guide To Tracking Your Absentee Ballot
Many states offer online tools where voters can check their ballot status, while others require voters to contact local election offices and representatives. Here's how to see whether your absentee ballot has been counted. (Conklin, 11/3)
