'Don't put stickers on your ballot'
Across the United States, millions of mail-in ballots in the November election are being received by county and municipal election officials. Each ballot must be examined to ensure they are marked in blue or black ink, that the ballot is signed, and that the voter made no extraneous markings outside that little oval symbol next to a candidate's name. In Montgomery County, Maryland, the process of "canvassing" ballots is well underway ahead of their tabulation early next month.
The Republican Party has sought, with mixed success, to limit voting by mail in states that expanded it in response to fears of spreading COVID-19 at crowded polling places.
Trump has attacked the integrity of mail-in voting, a regular part of American elections that is being used even more this year because of the pandemic. Trump has made unsubstantiated claims that mail-in ballots are especially vulnerable to fraud and suggested without evidence that their widespread use would lead to a "rigged election."
National opinion polls show Biden, the former vice president, holding a wide lead on President Donald Trump, though the contest is closer in swing states that decide elections including Florida, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Trump has gained some ground on Biden in Pennsylvania, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday, which showed the challenger leading by 49% to 45%, slightly narrower than a week earlier.
