US Election 2020: Thousands of uncounted military ballots may still change outcome in battleground states, says advocacy group

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Thousands of mail-in military ballots that are still being counted in battleground states of Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Nevada, could still change the direction of the 2020 United States presidential race, according to Count Every Hero – a group that advocates for the voting rights of service members.

Biden is leading in Georgia, Pennsylvania and Nevada, and Trump is ahead in North Carolina. But the margins in these states and thus remain thin and susceptible to swings.

At least 23,577 military ballots remain outstanding in the three aforementioned states, according to the advocacy group. Of these, 10,000 military ballots are in Pennsylvania and another 8,900 in Georgia.

Pennsylvania and Georgia have 20 and 16 Electoral College votes, respectively. The Wall Street Journal has cited Count Every Hero as saying that the ballots are either yet to be counted or have not been mailed back to the states’ election board.

In a tweet on November 6, President Trump appeared to have taken notice of the number of outstanding military and overseas ballots in the state of Georgia. “Where are the missing military ballots in Georgia? What happened to them?”

According to The Associated Press, the secretary of state’s office in Georgia said that the ballots could still arrive by the deadline.

The advocacy group suggested that these ballots have to be received in Pennsylvania and Nevada by November 10 and by November 6 in Georgia. These votes had to have been received by Election Day in other key states, including Arizona.

As of 11.30 am Indian Standard Time (IST) on November 7, Biden had clinched 253 electoral votes against Trump’s 214. Five battleground states where the margins are narrow are yet to be called. A candidate needs 270 such electoral votes to win the presidency.