The United States Postal Service on Thursday confirmed that it has delivered over 100 million blank or completed ballots since early September ahead of the upcoming Nov. 3 election.
The ballots, which have been delivered since Sept. 4, are both blank ballots heading to voters and completed ballots being returned to election officials across the country, Postal Service officials confirmed to The Hill.
The Postal Service also said Thursday that it has mailed over 523 million pieces of election mail, an increase of 162 percent over the 2016 general election.
Election mail is “any item mailed to or from authorized election officials that enables citizens to participate in the voting process — including ballots, voter registration cards, absentee voting applications and polling place notifications,” according to the Postal Service’s website.
A record number of voters will cast their ballots in the presidential election between President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden, as well as in congressional, state and local races, via mail this year amid fears over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. GOP and Democratic groups alike have launched lawsuits across the country over mail-in voting rules and guidelines for ballots.
Trump has regularly railed against the security of mail-in voting. However, experts have said there is little meaningful fraud documented with mailed ballots.
Florida, Alabama and other states across the country have seen spikes in mail-in voting, surpassing the number of ballots cast by mail in previous presidential races.