The presidential election is just around the corner. Millions of voters are casting early ballots. Meanwhile, some voters who planned to vote by mail report receiving ballot return envelopes already sealed shut due to moisture from rain and humidity.
Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump are entering the final stretch of the fiercely competitive race for the U.S. presidency.
The candidates are grappling with familiar challenges, such as war in the Middle East. There are also surprises. Millions of voters are casting early ballots, setting records in some states.
Early voting allows voters to cast ballots before Election Day. (That event is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. This year, it falls on November 5.) Some early voting happens through mailed-in ballots. In most states, people can also vote early in person at polling stations. Proponents believe early voting increases participation and relieves election day overcrowding. It can also be convenient for voters whose schedules might otherwise keep them from the polls.
Analysts say early voter turnout was breaking records last week in swing states such as Georgia and North Carolina. So far, more than 41 million people have voted.
These days, Democrats and Republicans both acknowledge the benefit of banking votes early. In the past, Democrats have done the most early voting. This year, Republicans are embracing the tactic in larger numbers.
Alongside widespread early voting, some folks are finding a problem. Dampness can seal the return envelopes before voters even receive their ballots. The 2024 election is not the first time that excess moisture has made envelopes unusable. The pre-sealed envelopes may confuse voters. Opening and using the envelope could cause the ballot to be thrown out.
A few absentee voters in Linn County, Iowa, reported faulty envelopes. “If they break the seal on the sealed envelope and then try to reseal it, that ballot will not be counted,” Deputy Commissioner of Elections Matt Warfield told Iowa’s News Now. “It is assumed that it has been tampered with.”
Some elections offices replace the ballot. Other offices allow voters to open the envelope, reseal it with tape, and sign or initial the envelope before mailing it.
Moisture-sealed envelopes showed up in North Carolina, where Hurricane Helene created soggy conditions. Pennsylvania, Alabama, and Oregon have seen envelope issues too.
An election office in Oregon has received four reports of pre-sealed envelopes. That’s a fairly small number, since more than 320,000 ballots went to voters by mail. Clackamas County Clerk Catherine McMullen says sealing happens in counties across Oregon every election to some degree. Weather can make the issue worse.
“As with any self-sealing envelope, when it gets wet, it can self-seal,” McMullen wrote.
Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Department of State wrote that humidity was prompting similar issues there.
Trey Forrest is the absentee election coordinator in Alabama’s Jefferson County. He says some ballots mailed in mid-September sealed due to moisture. But he says the problem hasn’t come up in the past three or four weeks.
With Tuesday, November 5, rapidly approaching, the window for early voting is closing.
Election officials say that voters who receive sealed return envelopes should contact their county elections office for what their next steps should be. Rules can vary across counties and states.
