American voters have taken to heart the opportunity to vote early and by mail to beat the pandemic and the suddenly sluggish U.S. Postal Service. By Friday, more than 75 million voters already had cast ballots, blowing away any previous record for early voting and raising the possibility of record overall turnout.

Now, because of slowed mail delivery in many places and the uncertainty created by pending litigation about whether mailed votes may be counted if they are received later than 8 p.m. on Election Day, voters still holding ballots would be wise to deposit them in person. In Lackawanna County, for example, the sole remaining drop box is at the Lackawanna County Government Center on Wyoming Avenue in downtown Scranton. It was to be available through the close of business today and until 8 p.m. on election night.

The politically paralyzed state Legislature, unfortunately, scooted out of the Capitol before the election without enacting a simple change that could have ensured a complete count on election night. Due to the avalanche of mailed ballots, county election officers statewide, of both parties, asked the Legislature repeatedly to allow early processing of mailed ballots before Election Day. Proposals ranged from three to 10 days. The idea was to take care of verification and other processing beforehand, and then count the ballots on Election Day.

The Legislature’s failure means that, in most counties, a complete count won’t be available until late in the week. State Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar believes full results will be ready no later than Friday.

That, in turn, calls for patience by voters already wracked by anxiety over the presidential election. They must understand that the delayed count does not indicate fraud, and that any lead a candidate might have based on tabulation of conventional votes cast is meaningless until the mailed ballots are counted.

— The Citizens’ Voice, Wilkes-Barre