In an all but tacit admission that President Trump’s concerns about mail-in voting had some merit, Tuesday’s NBC Nightly News featured a nearly three-minute-long segment discussing how the absentee ballot system in New York was a disaster. And with no winner declared in a Democratic congressional primary after six weeks, senior investigative and legal correspondent Cynthia McFadden warned that the results for the presidential election could take “at least a week” and a SCOTUS ruling.
From the very top of the video portion of the segment, McFadden was critical of New York. “Tonight, six weeks after the New York Democratic primary, congressional candidate Raj Patel doesn't know if he won or lost. Because election officials have yet to announce a winner,” she told viewers.
She added: “The reason? Ten times more New Yorkers, a whopping 1.8 million, requested absentee ballots than did four years ago. Experts tell NBC News New York election officials were woefully unprepared.”
It’s worth noting that this is the first time any weekday broadcast network evening newscast dedicated airtime to New York’s bungled election.
McFadden even threw Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo under the bus for his role in the still-unfolding saga:
Governor Andrew Cuomo had tried to make the process easier by sending postage paid envelopes with all requested ballots. But that ended up backfiring. Because to be counted, ballots need to be postmarked with a date. Something the post office doesn't usually do for prepaid metered mail. So those ballots, thousands of them, were not counted.
Of course, NBC still had to gripe about Trump “using” it to back up his argument. “New York election officials say they were doing their best under difficult circumstances. But that hasn't stopped President Trump, a critic of mail-in voting, from using the New York election mess to make his point,” she said.
Speaking of griping about the President, earlier in the program (knowing full well McFadden’s story was coming), NBC had White House correspondent Geoff Bennett tell viewers that Trump “continued his unfounded attacks on voting by mail.”
After the Trump jab, McFadden rhetorically wondered: “So what does this primary fiasco mean for November, when 50 million to 80 million Americans are expected to vote by mail?”
Well, according to Stanford election law professor Nate Persily, Congress needed to allocate $3-4 billion to the states, which only had two weeks to get their mail-in ballot systems ready for the election (click “expand”):
PERSILY (Stanford election law professor): It's a cautionary tale of how states and localities really need to get prepared and work with the postal office.
MCFADDEN: Stanford election law professor Nate Persily says Congress needs to appropriate $3-4 billion to help states and do it fast.
PERSILY: I think we have two weeks to make the critical decisions that are necessary to pull off this election.
MCFADDEN: Two weeks?!
PERSILY: When it comes to buying the necessary equipment, making sure we have enough polling places and poll workers, we have really just two weeks to put the basics in place.
Further citing Persily, McFadden concluded by cautioning viewers to not “expect to know the results for at least a week. And that ultimately, it may be up to the Supreme Court to decide.”
In a similar stumble into reality, CBS's Tony Dokoupil recently discovered firsthand how mail-in ballots could be a disaster.
This admission of reality was made possible because of sponsorships from Liberty Mutual and HomeAdviser.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
NBC Nightly News
August 4, 2020
7:22:07 p.m. Eastern [2 minutes 56 seconds]LESTER HOLT: We are just about 90 days until the election where we could see an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots and questions about whether election night could turn into election week. With more, here's Cynthia McFadden.
[Cuts to video]
CYNTHIA MCFADDEN: Tonight, six weeks after the New York Democratic primary, congressional candidate Raj Patel doesn't know if he won or lost. Because election officials have yet to announce a winner.
RAJ PATEL: It's just was a complete mess of a system.
MCFADDEN: The reason? Ten times more New Yorkers, a whopping 1.8 million, requested absentee ballots than did four years ago. Experts tell NBC News New York election officials were woefully unprepared.
Governor Andrew Cuomo had tried to make the process easier by sending postage paid envelopes with all requested ballots. But that ended up backfiring. Because to be counted, ballots need to be postmarked with a date. Something the post office doesn't usually do for prepaid metered mail. So those ballots, thousands of them, were not counted.
PATEL: You are not entitled to a perfect election in America, but you are entitled to a free and fair one.
MCFADDEN: Patel, who’s trailing by 3,700 votes, sued to have more ballots without postmarks counted. Overnight, a judge ruling at least 1,000 disputed ballots must be included.
And there were other issues. 33,000 ballots mailed out to voters the day before election day, meaning they’d never make it back in time.
PATEL: We have to be able to say we messed it up.
MCFADDEN: New York election officials say they were doing their best under difficult circumstances. But that hasn't stopped President Trump, a critic of mail-in voting, from using the New York election mess to make his point.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: It's been a total disaster. They have -- they're six weeks into it now; they have no clue what's going on. [Transition] How are you going to do that for an entire nation?
MCFADDEN: So what does this primary fiasco mean for November, when 50 million to 80 million Americans are expected to vote by mail?
NATE PERSILY (Stanford election law professor): It's a cautionary tale of how states and localities really need to get prepared and work with the postal office.
MCFADDEN: Stanford election law professor Nate Persily says Congress needs to appropriate $3-4 billion to help states and do it fast.
PERSILY: I think we have two weeks to make the critical decisions that are necessary to pull off this election.
MCFADDEN: Two weeks?!
PERSILY: When it comes to buying the necessary equipment, making sure we have enough polling places and poll workers, we have really just two weeks to put the basics in place.
[Cuts back to live]
MCFADDEN: Professor Persily says that if the election is close, don't expect to know the results for at least a week. And that ultimately, it may be up to the Supreme Court to decide. Lester.
HOLT: Cynthia McFadden tonight.
