Some Kalamazoo voters are hesitant to mail their completed absentee ballots for the November election, City Clerk Scott Borling told WMUK. A slowdown in US Postal Service delivery and statements from President Trump and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy have raised questions about how USPS would handle a flood of election mail this fall.
Many people are expected to vote absentee in the general election because of COVID-19. But cuts at USPS have slowed mail service around the country. President Trump has asserted, baselessly, that mail-in voting is rife with fraud.
Kalamazoo City Clerk Scott Borling says people stopping by his office have asked how to return their ballots without mailing them.
“They’re saying ‘hey, I can bypass any of those concerns by just bringing it back down,’” Borling said.
Borling says voters can bring ballots to his office during business hours or they can use the drop boxes at city hall. Borling says for people who do plan to mail their ballots, “the sooner you can send it in the better.”
“Take care of that, don’t hang onto it,” he added.
Borling says mail isn’t always delivered promptly even in the best of times.
“There are always inconsistencies,” he said. “Some people will mail their ballot and it will take just two days to get to us, some people will mail their ballot and it will take a week to get to us. Why, I don’t know.”