Election Officials Warn U.S. Mail System Issues May Disrupt Voting

TOPEKA, Kan. — Election officials at both state and local levels throughout the United States have expressed deep concerns regarding the mail delivery system as it poses risks to voter participation ahead of the upcoming presidential election. In a letter addressed to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, they highlighted that the issues with mail service are ongoing and unresolved.

In their letter, these officials described alarming instances in which mailed ballots were postmarked on time but still reached local election offices days after the counting deadline. They also reported that properly addressed election mail was being returned as undeliverable. This issue could inadvertently cause eligible voters to be marked as inactive, potentially leading to confusion and chaos when these individuals attempt to cast their votes.

The officials pointed out that their efforts to communicate and resolve these problems with the Postal Service have largely been ignored. They characterized the widespread nature of these issues as indicating a broader, systemic failure rather than isolated incidents at specific postal facilities. The letter emphasized, “This demonstrates a pervasive lack of understanding and enforcement of USPS policies among its employees.”

Representatives from the National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors underscored their dissatisfaction in the letter, stating that they had observed no significant improvement or effort from the Postal Service to address their concerns. They urged immediate action to correct ongoing issues with the USPS election mail service.

The election officials warned that if these problems remain unaddressed, the consequences could be dire, undermining voter participation and trust in the electoral process. Attempts to reach the U.S. Postal Service for a comment on the matter were unsuccessful initially.

Many local election administrators across almost every state reported that ballots were arriving late, even when postmarked timely, contradicting the USPS’s claimed delivery standards of three to five business days for first-class mail. The letter arrived just weeks after DeJoy asserted the Postal Service’s readiness to manage the expected high volume of mail ballots for the presidential election scheduled for November.

In the 2020 election, approximately 69 million ballots were mailed out, a significant increase compared to the previous election cycle, largely spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the number of mail-in ballots this year might be smaller, reliance on mail voting has increased among voters. Consequently, both major political parties are encouraging early voting to ensure that supporters can secure their votes before Election Day.

The timing of the letter coincided with the initial dispatch of mailed ballots for this year’s general election, which were sent to absentee voters in Alabama. Last month, Postal Service representatives assured that nearly 98 percent of ballots were returned within three days in the 2020 election, with a slight improvement in 2022. DeJoy expressed a desire to push this figure closer to 100 percent for the upcoming election.

However, criticism of the Postal Service has persisted, particularly from officials in rural states. They have pointed to significant changes made over the years, such as the consolidation of mail processing centers aimed at reducing operational costs, which have affected service delivery.

The letter was signed by both the current and incoming presidents of the election officials’ associations, along with local election officials representing 25 states. They cautioned that any mail returned as undeliverable could lead to voters being marked as inactive, thus requiring them to take additional steps to validate their eligibility to vote.

Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, who previously served as the president of the National Association of Secretaries of State, recently expressed that nearly 1,000 ballots from the state’s primary election could not be counted due to late arrivals or missing postmarks. He criticized the timeliness of mail service, quipping that “The Pony Express is more efficient at this point.”

Election officials in Kansas, including Schwab, have raised concerns that some ballots arrive on time without postmarks, which prevents them from being counted per state law. Notably, Schwab mentioned that local postal clerks have informed election officials they are unable to add postmarks retroactively, even if it is evident that the Postal Service handled the ballots in a timely manner.

Kansas law allows for ballots to be counted if they are postmarked by Election Day and arrive within three days. This grace period was established following concerns about mail delays after the closure of seven processing centers in the state some years back, transferring much of the mail delivery to larger centers in neighboring states.

Schwab has advocated for the use of local ballot drop boxes for early voting, countering claims made by some Republicans about potential fraud linked to these boxes, which he believes are more secure than traditional mail.

According to the officials’ correspondence, many election staff across the country have reported confusion among USPS employees regarding procedures for handling election mail. They have received inconsistent guidance, leading to misdelivered ballots and further complications for state and local election operations. The officials concluded that effective communication alone cannot compensate for the Postal Service’s ongoing delivery failures, emphasizing the need for a reliable partner in USPS for maintaining electoral integrity.

Source: Associated Press