Election Academy:  There have been lots of stories in the news – and on this blog – recently about election officials’ concerns about how the U.S. Postal Service handles and delivers voting materials and ballots. With 2016 just around the corner, the Election Assistance Commission and the Federal Voting Assistance Program have decided to be proactive and see if there’s any way to get the USPS and election offices on the same page in this crucial election year. Here’s the text of a letter they sent earlier this week:

The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and Department of Defense’s Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) are writing to offer our assistance to the United States Postal Service (USPS) to better engage State and local election officials regarding the challenges surrounding postal voting. Voting by mail has become an essential element of voting in America, especially for those voters away from home like our military and overseas voters. In the last presidential election, almost six and a half million voters used the mail to cast their ballots.  Read more.