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Donald Trump with US soldiers in Japan (2019)
Photo: JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS
The US electoral system has its peculiarities, that should be clear after several days of counting.
One of them is only now, towards the end, pressing to the fore: the possible late influence of ballots from military personnel who are outside the United States and whose letters are accepted in most states even after election day.
Her submissions are among the last to be tallied in Pennsylvania and Georgia, among others.
In states where the results of Donald Trump and Joe Biden are only a few thousand votes apart, they could therefore play a decisive role.
In the United States, it has traditionally been a high priority to give military personnel the choice - no matter where they are.
President Abraham Lincoln had soldiers return home to vote during the American Civil War if there was no alternative.
Ballot papers from abroad have special deadlines
In 1942, Congress first passed a law that guaranteed members of the armed forces to vote in federal elections during military operations.
Since 2009, all states have been legally obliged to create a system that provides military personnel and other citizens abroad with postal voting documents.
According to Count Every Hero, 28 states and the District of Columbia accept overseas ballots even if they arrive after election day.
In Georgia, for example, where Trump and Biden are currently almost tied, ballot papers from abroad are accepted up to three days after election day.
North Carolina will consider votes received by November 12th, Pennsylvania by November 10th.
The only requirement is that the letters have been postmarked on election day at the latest.
It is to be expected that the late-arriving ballot papers will therefore include many votes from members of the military.
According to a report by Count Every Hero, it takes an average of six days for election papers to arrive from abroad.
The organization is a non-partisan group that works to protect the right to vote for members of the armed forces.
Is Trump getting a boost from the military postal voters?
If Trump and Biden are only a few thousand votes apart in one state, it is at least theoretically conceivable that the postal votes of the military personnel will make themselves felt.
In 2016, Georgia received more than 2,600 ballot papers from members of the armed forces, according to the US Elections Assistance Commission.
In North Carolina it was almost 11,000, in Pennsylvania almost 7,800 and in Nevada around 2,700.
Due to the high turnout, these numbers could be even higher this year.
In Georgia, for example, the Office of the Secretary of State reported that around 8,900 ballots were sent to military voters and foreign nationals that will be re-accepted by Friday.
According to Fox News, some believe the votes could give Trump another boost.
However, among the ballot papers, in addition to those of the military, there are also those of civilians who are abroad.
In addition, the returns that have already arrived were counted normally.
Trump may have angered many military personnel with his calls to stop the counts - but only after they had cast their vote.
"Any attempt to stop the counts or to exclude postal ballots hits disproportionately large voters in the military," said Jack Noland of Count Every Hero.
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