WASHINGTON _ Democrats in one of the most pivotal battleground states are pushing past concerns about the efficiency of the Postal Service and making voting by mail a centerpiece of their election mobilization strategy.
Despite a president who has continually maligned the process, Republican lawsuits aimed at restricting the practice, and an edict from former first lady Michelle Obama at last week's Democratic National Convention to "vote in person if we can," Pennsylvania Democrats have settled on a concerted effort to urge their voters to cast ballots through the mail _ a campaign that already appears to be paying dividends.
Democrats in Pennsylvania account for two-thirds of the 1.3 million mail ballot requests that have already been made, according to a top Democratic political data firm. Unlike some Western states that have voted by mail for several election cycles and Florida, which has used the practice for nearly two decades, Pennsylvania is entering uncharted waters this fall, as a no-excuse mail voting law was first signed last October.
