Yet another tactic to prevent “the wrong people” from voting. But a lot has already been happening even before this. States have been passing laws over the last several years that mail-in ballots can only be counted if they physically arrive at he Election office before Election Day.

It used to be with most states that a ballot would be counted if it arrived by X number of days after Election Day as long as it was postmarked by that day. And it used to be that your mail was postmarked the same day you mailed it, proving for example that you sent in your tax return on time. But not any more. The USPS is now saying that your item might not be postmarked for some time after you actually mail it, depending on when they get around to processing it.

Depending on where you live, relying on a postmark to prove you mailed your tax return, mail-in ballot, bill payment or any other time-sensitive document by a specific date may no longer work as you expect. As the U.S. Postal Service continues implementing operational changes in an effort to shore up its finances and modernize its infrastructure, the agency expects an increase in delays between when you mail something and when it is postmarked, according to a public notice in the Federal Register that took effect Dec. 24. A postmark shows the date your mail was processed, and historically has been applied the same day you mail an item. However, due to limiting pickups at many postal locations and mail now often traveling farther to regional processing centers where the postmark is applied, “the postmark date does not inherently or necessarily align with the date on which the Postal Service first accepted possession of the mailpiece,” the notice reads.

Mail-in ballots are clearly recognizable in their special envelopes (so they would get priority treatment). So it’s very easy for the Post Office to sort out those ballots from the other mail. And depending on the state, besides your signature it will have your name and return address they could scan and compare to a list, or at the very least they know where it was mailed from. So they could easily screen out ballots from people areas more likely to vote Democratic and simply delay postmarking them until past the deadline, or just hold up delivery to make sure they’re late.

I would say we should avoid voting by mail, or if you do, mail it well before the deadline AND consider driving to a post office in an affluent, white, or in general Republican-leaning area and mailing it from there. But really, at least for the next couple of federal election cycles or for as long as magats are in power, I recommend voting early and in person at the Election office if at all possible.