WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK

As election day draws nearer it becomes increasingly important that each and every one of us talk to our friends and neighbors about what we face at the polls this election cycle. And mind you, this has nothing to do with a "political" conversation - or it certainly doesn’t have to. This is about every American’s vote COUNTING. Republican, Democrat, Independent...no matter what you or your neighbor believes, all of us have the right as Americans for our vote to count.

What so many Americans don’t realize is that if they vote by mail this election - as almost everyone seems to be urging nowadays - it’s highly likely their vote doesn’t make it to the ballot box. We have already seen it all over the place - New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and beyond - hundreds of thousands of ballots not counted or invalidated because of unprepared and ill-equipped election processes.

I talked at length about this on my podcast this week, especially how the issue is playing out in the state of Nevada and has already played out in New York, with 80,000 ballots that went uncounted in the recent primary. I hope you will listen. Please, share this message with those you know and urge them this election to vote in person on election day. It is the only way to guarantee that your vote counts and is counted.

Onward,
Catherine

NEWS TO KNOW

1. President Trump warns it could take years to get election results with mass-mailed ballots

President Trump warned that if states like Nevada are allowed to send mail-in ballots to all registered voters, it could take "years" to get the results from November's election. He claimed that the infrastructure is not there for such a large-scale operation. The president pointed to a congressional primary election in New York that has resulted in weeks of vote counting after voters mailed in their ballots.

2. Over 80,000 mail-in ballots disqualified in NYC primary mess

The city Board of Elections received 403,103 mail-in ballots for the June 23 Democratic presidential primary. But the certified results released Wednesday revealed that only 318,995 mail-in ballots were counted. That means 84,108 ballots were not counted or invalidated — 21 percent of the total. One out of four mail-in ballots were disqualified for arriving late, lacking a postmark or failing to include a voter’s signature, or other defects. The Post reported Tuesday that roughly 30,000 mail-in ballots were invalidated in Brooklyn alone.

3. U.S. Puts $10 Million Bounty on 2020 Election Hackers

The Trump administration will offer up to $10 million to any individual who provides information about foreign hackers who seek to influence the outcome of the 2020 election. The reward is available under the State Department's Rewards for Justice program to anyone who can provide the United States with "information leading to the identification or location of any person who works with or for a foreign government for the purpose of interfering with U.S. elections through certain illegal cyber activities." The United States is seeking the identifying information of perpetrators of interference in "any U.S. federal, state, or local election," according to the State Department. The Trump administration vowed to prosecute any person who aims to commit computer fraud relating to the elections, including hacking into electronic voter records and polling sites.