Military ballots continue to accumulate in crucial battleground states in the days following the general election, which could swing the tide for either President Donald Trump or Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden.
Fox News reports that hundreds of thousands of absentee ballots, many of which come from overseas military members, are still arriving in the states of North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Nevada, where the margins between the two candidates are particularly thin. As of Thursday afternoon, Trump leads by about 200,000 votes in Pennsylvania, 76,000 votes in North Carolina, and 18,000 votes in Georgia.
According to Military.com, the number of absentee ballots from service members is expected to far exceed the number seen in 2016, when over 252,000 active-duty military members cast a mail-in ballot.
“We won't know the exact number of ballots outstanding, but past elections show the importance of counting these votes,” Jack Noland, the research manager for the organization Count Every Heroes, which works to ensure that all absentee ballots from service members get counted, told The Hill.
“An important caveat is that we can't know for certain, but I think it goes without saying that if the race becomes particularly tight these ballots could be vital,” he continued. “This year — especially because of the impacts of COVID-19 — the integrity of the election rests on mail-in votes, including ballots from members of the military, being validated and counted. We must count every ballot.”
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.