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A2   UP FRONT
                 Friday 18 September 2020
            They also said the changes                                                                                          earlier  this  year  on  enve-
            interfered with their consti-                                                                                       lopes  that  met  election
            tutional authority to admin-                                                                                        mail  standards  —  only  to
            ister their elections.                                                                                              learn  that  the  Postal  Ser-
            At the hearing, Justice De-                                                                                         vice wouldn't treat them as
            partment  attorney  Joseph                                                                                          first  class  mail.  In  Madison,
            Borson sought to assure the                                                                                         Wisconsin,  the  number  of
            judge  that  the  Postal  Ser-                                                                                      ballots  that  weren't  count-
            vice would handle election                                                                                          ed  because  they  arrived
            mail  promptly,  noting  that                                                                                       late for the August primary
            a surge of ballots in the mail                                                                                      doubled  from  the  August
            would  pale  in  comparison                                                                                         2018 primary.
            to increases from, say, holi-                                                                                       Further, they cited research
            day cards.                                                                                                          from information technolo-
            He  also  said  slow-downs                                                                                          gy consultant Mynor Urizar-
            caused  by  the  "leave  be-                                                                                        Hunter, who helped start a
            hind"  policy  had  gotten                                                                                          website  tracking  the  USPS
            better  since  it  was  first  im-                                                                                  changes,  noting  that  78%
            plemented,  and  that  the                                                                                          of the machines slated for
            Postal Service in reality had                                                                                       removal  were  in  counties
            made no changes with re-                                                                                            won  by  Democrat  Hillary
            gard to how it classifies and                                                                                       Clinton in 2016.
            processes  election  mail.   In this Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020, file photo, a person drops applications for mail-in-ballots into a mail   The states suing are Wash-
            DeJoy  has  repeatedly  in-  box in Omaha, Neb.                                                                     ington,  Michigan,  Wiscon-
            sisted that processing elec-                                                                       Associated Press  sin,  Nevada,  Colorado,
            tion mail remains the orga-                                                                                         Connecticut,  Illinois,  Mary-
            nization's top priority.     ing  counted  "can  simply  sion  itself  —  even  though  in  July,  but  they  said  on-  land, Minnesota, New Mex-
            "There's been a lot of con-  promptly  drop  their  ballots  by law the commission has  time  deliveries  remain  well  ico, Oregon, Rhode Island,
            fusion in the briefing and in  in  the  mail,"  he  said,  and  90 days to respond. Bastian  below  their  prior  levels,  Vermont and Virginia — all
            the  press  about  what  the  states can help by mailing  rejected that notion, saying  meaning millions of pieces  led  by  Democratic  attor-
            Postal  Service  has  done,"  registration  form  or  absen-  there was no time for that  of  mail  that  would  other-  neys general.
            Borson  said.  "The  states  tee ballots early.           with the election just seven  wise arrive on-time no lon-  Pennsylvania  is  leading  a
            are accusing us of making  Borson also insisted that the  weeks away.                  ger are.                     separate  multistate  law-
            changes  we  have  not  in  states  also  were  required  The  states  conceded  that    They  also  noted  some  of  suit  over  the  changes,
            fact made."                  to  bring  their  challenge  mail  delays  have  eased  the  effects  the  changes  and  New  York  and  Mon-
            Voters  who  are  worried  not in court, but before the  since  the  service  cuts  first  had   already   wrought:  tana  have  filed  their  own
            about  their  ballots  be-   Postal Regulatory Commis-    created  a  national  uproar  Michigan  spent  $2  million  challenges.q
            Gay marriages rise 5 years after Supreme Court ruling




                                                                      that  same-sex  couples  re-  holds,  84.6%  compared  to  child  under  age  18,  com-
                                                                      ally  weren't  all  that  inter-  80.4%.                  pared to 37.8% of opposite-
                                                                      ested  in  marriage.  But  the  However,  there  was  a  dif-  sex  couples.  Of  the  nearly
                                                                      large increase in marriages  ference between gay and  300,000  children  living  in  a
                                                                      among  same-sex  couples  lesbian  couples.  Married  homes with same-sex cou-
                                                                      since marriage equality be-  women in same-sex house-     ples,  66%  were  children  of
                                                                      came legal nationwide of-    holds were much more like-   both  partners  or  spouses,
                                                                      fers  evidence  of  the  clear  ly to be working than mar-  compared to 95% for oppo-
                                                                      desire for marriage among  ried women in opposite-sex  site-sex couples, according
                                                                      same-sex  couples,"  said  households, but the reverse  to the Census Bureau's Cur-
                                                                      Gary  Gates,  a  demogra-    was true for married men in  rent Population Survey.
                                                                      pher specializing in LGBT is-  same-sex households. They  The District of Columbia had
                                                                      sues.                        were less likely to be work-  the greatest concentration
                                                                      The survey revealed notice-  ing  than  married  men  in  of  same-sex  households,
            In this April 28, 2015 file photo, demonstrators stand in front of a   able economic differences  opposite-sex   households,  at  2.4%  of  households,  fol-
            rainbow flag of the Supreme Court in Washington.          between  male  couples  according  to  the  Census  lowed by Delaware (1.3%),
                                                     Associated Press  and  female  couples,  as  Bureau.                       Oregon  (1.2%),  Massachu-
                                                                      well  as  same-sex  couples  "While most research shows  setts  (1.2%)  and  Washing-
            ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Five  rising  to  568,110  couples  and opposite-sex couples.     that gay and bisexual men,  ton State (1.1%), according
            years after the U.S. Supreme  in  2019,  according  to  the  Same-sex  married  couples  on  average,  do  not  earn  to  the  American  Commu-
            Court  legalized  same-sex  Census  Bureau's  American  had  a  higher  median  in-    more  than  their  compa-    nity Survey.
            marriages around the U.S.,  Community Survey.             come  than  opposite-sex  rable  heterosexual  male  In the survey, the average
            more  than  a  half  million  Of  the  980,000  same-sex  married  couples,  $107,210  counterparts, that research  age  of  a  respondent  in  a
            households  are  made  up  couple  households  report-    compared      to   $96,932.  also  shows  that  they  tend  same-sex marriage was 48,
            of  married  same-sex  cou-  ed in 2019, 58% were mar-    In   same-sex   marriages,  to  earn  more  than  lesbi-  and  the  average  age  of
            ples,  according  to  figures  ried couples and 42% were  though,    male    couples  an  and  bisexual  women,"  the spouse was 47. Of those
            the  U.S.  Census  Bureau  re-  unmarried partners, the sur-  earned  more  than  female  Gates  said.  "Unfortunately,  who responded to the sur-
            leased Thursday.             vey showed.                  couples,  $123,646  versus  gender  discrimination  is  vey as being in a same-sex
            Since 2014, the year before  There  were  slightly  more  $87,690.                     present, regardless of sexu-  married  household,  82%
            the U.S. Supreme Court le-   female  couple  households  According  to  the  survey,  al orientation."              identified  as  white,  almost
            galized  same  sex  marriag-  than  male  couple  house-  same-sex  married  house-    Separate survey results also  7% identified themselves as
            es,  the  number  of  married  holds.                     holds were more likely to be  released  Thursday  show  Black and almost 4% were
            same-sex  households  has  "Opponents  of  marriage  in  the  workforce  than  op-     almost  15%  of  same-sex  Asian. More than 13% were
            increased  by  almost  70%,  equality frequently argued  posite-sex  married  house-   couples  had  at  least  one  Hispanic.q
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