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Michigan's Top Election Official Says Mail-in Votes Could Take a Week to Count

© AP Photo / Matt RourkeIn this May 28, 2020, file photo a voter casts her mail-in ballot at in a drop box in West Chester, Pa., prior to the primary election. Just over four months before Election Day, President Donald Trump is escalating his efforts to delegitimize the upcoming presidential election
In this May 28, 2020, file photo a voter casts her mail-in ballot at in a drop box in West Chester, Pa., prior to the primary election. Just over four months before Election Day, President Donald Trump is escalating his efforts to delegitimize the upcoming presidential election - Sputnik International
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Eight US states and the District of Columbia are sending out mail-in ballots to all registered voters ahead of the presidential election on 3 November, while another 34 states will allow all residents to apply for a postal vote.

The presidential vote count in Michigan this November could take a week, the Midwestern swing state's senior election official has said.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the Democrat-run state's third most senior official, said the expected high number of mail-in votes could take that long to verify and tally.

“We should be prepared for this to be closer to an Election Week, as opposed to an Election Day”, Benson told Sunday's edition of NBC's Meet the Press. "The bottom line is, we're not going to have the full results and counting of all of our ballots on election night".

Benson insisted she was "Laser focused on accuracy", adding: "If it takes a few extra days to ensure we have a full and accurate counting of the results of every race, that's what it's going to take".

"With that said, we're increasing tabulators, we're increasing capacity to more efficiently and securely have those ballots".

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Business Insider politics reporter Grace Panetta tweeted that the potential delay was down to Michigan state laws that stop election officials from touching postal ballots until election day.

Republican President Donald Trump won ​Michigan, part of the northern Midwest's industrialised "rustbelt", in the 2016 election by a margin of just 10,700 votes over Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. The state backed Democrat Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012.

Eight US states and the District of Columbia have announced they are sending out mail-in ballots to all registered voters to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission at polling stations on 3 November. Another 34 will allow all citizens to apply to vote by mail if they wish.

But Trump and other Republicans have claimed that the prospect of up to 80 million postal votes is a recipe for ballot fraud.

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