Postmaster General Says USPS Ready for Surge of Mail-in Ballots

U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has pledged to collaborate with state election officials regarding issues related to mail delivery for the upcoming primary season. In a letter issued recently, he affirmed that the Postal Service will be prepared to handle a significant volume of mail-in ballots in the lead-up to the November elections.

DeJoy addressed previous concerns expressed by election officials about the return of correctly addressed election mail. Such issues can lead to voters being placed on inactive status. Officials also noted instances where mail-in ballots were postmarked on time yet arrived after critical election deadlines.

To combat these issues, DeJoy mentioned that training programs for postal employees are being enhanced. The Postal Service is maintaining open communication with election officials to resolve quality concerns and prevent incorrect deliveries or returned mail. He also acknowledged the necessity to avoid recurring problems associated with “flawed ballot envelope designs,” although it was noted that many designs have already been finalized and printed.

The Postal Service has dedicated teams ready to handle mail that is categorized as “undeliverable as addressed,” along with other potential election mail problems, according to DeJoy.

Concerns surrounding mail delivery arose from discussions within the National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump has continued to spread misinformation regarding the 2020 election results and has exploited issues with mail delivery to raise doubts about the forthcoming election. He reiterated his claims on social media regarding the Postal Service’s capabilities over the weekend.

During the 2020 election, officials mailed out more than 69 million ballots, a considerable increase in contrast to previous years, primarily driven by the pandemic. Though fewer ballots may be distributed this year, many voters have become accustomed to mail voting, leading both major political parties to promote early voting as a means of ensuring their supporters “bank” their votes ahead of Election Day, which falls on November 5. Recently, Alabama sent out the first batch of mail ballots to absentee voters.

Steve Simon, president of the National Association of Secretaries of State, emphasized his belief that the Postal Service has been slow in addressing concerns. He noted that while localized issues can be managed, “larger issues still remain.”

If election officials felt that their concerns had been adequately handled by the Postal Service over the past year, Simon argued, there would have been no need for the election groups to voice their worries last week.

Mandy Vigil, president of the National Association of State Election Directors, echoed Simon’s sentiments, stating that the issues raised had not been sufficiently addressed in time for the November election.

In his letter, DeJoy acknowledged that significant changes within the Postal Service had led to some temporary setbacks. However, he reassured both bipartisan election organizations that further adjustments will be minimized to prevent delays in election mail as November approaches.

He cited the Postal Service’s historical performance in past elections as evidence of its reliability. In the last presidential election, nearly 98% of ballots reached election officials within three days, and 99.9% were delivered within a week, even amidst the challenges posed by the pandemic.

“As consistently demonstrated in prior elections, election mail typically exceeds our regular service performance, thanks to our well-established procedures,” DeJoy asserted.

Currently, first-class mail is averaging a delivery time of 2.7 days. This is noteworthy despite election officials indicating that some timely postmarked ballots were received after Election Day, which contradicts the standard three to five business days set by the Postal Service for first-class mail.

Nevertheless, DeJoy has urged voters to avoid delays with mail-in ballots during this election season. Both the Postal Service and state election officials recommend that anyone voting by mail should return their ballots well in advance of Election Day or utilize drop boxes where they are available.

Source: Associated Press