In Pennsylvania, over 3,400 legal challenges filed by right-wing activists and Republican lawmakers against mail ballot applications were withdrawn shortly after Election Day and the announcement of a Donald Trump victory [1].
Election officials universally rejected these challenges, deeming them meritless and burdensome to the electoral process. Critics, including the ACLU, called these challenges an abuse of legal procedures intended to disenfranchise voters, create chaos, and undermine trust in election systems.
Republican state lawmakers Jarrett Coleman and Cris Dush led the bulk of the challenges but withdrew them without clear explanations after the election concluded. Some voters, like Christine Dax, an overseas voter from Lehigh County, described the challenges as baseless voter suppression tactics.
[1] Pennsylvania mail ballot challenges are withdrawn or denied : NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/11/09/nx-s1-5183227/pennsylvania-mail-ballot-voter-challenges-republican
To: The United States Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, and postmasters in key battleground states
Urgent Action: Demand Transparency on Missing 2024 Mail-In Ballots in Key States
To the United States Postmaster General Louis DeJoy,
We urge you to address the pressing issue of missing mail-in ballots in the 2024 general election, particularly in the battleground states of North Carolina, Arizona, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. Mail-in ballot return rates in these states decreased significantly by 10%, 6%, 4%, and 3% respectively, compared to 2020—and are in total 11-13% lower than both the 2016 and 2020 elections. If we expect the total mail-in ballot return rates to be similar to that of 2016 or 2020, this suggests that an additional 7.5–9 million mail-in ballots should have been counted nationwide. Such discrepancies threaten the integrity of our electoral process.
We urge you to address the pressing issue of missing mail-in ballots in the 2024 general election, particularly in the battleground states of North Carolina, Arizona, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. Mail-in ballot return rates in these states decreased significantly by 10%, 6%, 4%, and 3% respectively, compared to 2020—and are in total 11-13% lower than both the 2016 and 2020 elections. If we expect the total mail-in ballot return rates to be similar to that of 2016 or 2020, this suggests that an additional 7.5–9 million mail-in ballots should have been counted nationwide. Such discrepancies threaten the integrity of our electoral process.
Recent reports of ballot box burnings and discarded mail-in ballots demand an immediate and thorough investigation. We call on you, along with state postmasters, to conduct a rapid and transparent inquiry into every missing mail-in ballot. Voters deserve clarity on the full extent of these issues: how many mail-in ballots were lost, rejected, or mishandled? Additionally, for voters who had their ballots rejected and opted to vote provisionally on Election Day, we request transparency on how many of these provisional ballots were accepted.
This appeal is not just about transparency—it is about safeguarding our democracy. Mail-in ballots significantly impact Democratic voters, and in this critical election, we will not stand by as our voices are silenced. We ask that you take immediate action to protect the integrity of this election, before it is too late. The American people demand accountability now.
Why is this important?
The mail-in ballot return rate dropped drastically in 2024 compared to previous election years. In key battleground states like North Carolina, Arizona, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, return rates for mail-in ballots were significantly lower, down by 10%, 6%, 4%, and 3% respectively compared to 2020—and a shocking 11-13% lower than both 2016 and 2020 across all 50 states [1]. This represents 7.5 to 9 million votes nationwide that are seemingly unaccounted for. The numbers just don’t add up, especially given the stakes of this election and how essential mail-in voting is for so many Americans, particularly Democrats. Such discrepancies threaten the integrity of our electoral process and undermine the core tenet of our democracy—free and fair elections.
On top of this, we’ve seen reports of ballot boxes set on fire [2,3] and bags of discarded ballots found [4]. With so much at stake in this election, we can’t sit idly by. Now is not the time to throw up our hands. It’s the time to roll up our sleeves and fight for transparency and accountability in the 2024 election. Every missing ballot represents an American voice, and we will not allow those voices to be suppressed.
To me, this isn’t just about numbers or party lines—it’s about restoring confidence in our electoral process. When ballots are discarded or destroyed, the basic fairness of our system is compromised. We need to hold those responsible for destroying ballots accountable and ensure that the voices of affected voters are heard and represented in the final vote count. Every vote is a promise that in a true democracy our voices will be heard. When mail-in ballots go missing, that promise is broken. And in states with razor-thin margins, losing thousands of votes could easily change the election outcome.
We all deserve a transparent, trustworthy process. That’s why I’m calling on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and state postmasters to take this issue seriously and investigate what happened to those missing ballots. I want to trust that, no matter how I vote, my voice—and every American’s voice—counts.
[1] 2024 Early Voting UF Election Lab. https://election.lab.ufl.edu/early-vote/2024-early-voting/
[2] What we know about the ballot boxes set on fire in Washington and Oregon | CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/29/us/ballot-box-fires-what-we-know/index.html
[2] What we know about the ballot boxes set on fire in Washington and Oregon | CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/29/us/ballot-box-fires-what-we-know/index.html
[3] Devices used in ballot box arsons had 'Free Gaza' markings, sources say - ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/US/ballot-box-set-fire-west-coast-portland-oregon/story?id=115221030
[4] Sierra Madre, California man finds stack of mail-in ballots in storm drain weeks ahead of 2024 election - ABC7 Chicago. https://abc7chicago.com/post/sierra-madre-california-man-finds-stack-mail-ballots-storm-drain-weeks-ahead-2024-election/15441534/