So are there 27,000 uncounted absentee ballots? If so, it seems a pretty screwed up way to run an election. Are the total number of absentees ballots at least a known quantity?
I’ve always assumed that all ballots are counted. I hope that is the law in every voting precinct in the US, but I don’t know for certain.
I can believe that there might be lazy election workers in some precincts who might follow such a policy at times if they can bet away with it, but I hope all ballots are counted in the overwhelming majority of voting places.
Of course, much of our military votes absentee.