USPS delivers millions of mail-in ballots and resumes normal operations in hurricane-affected states

On October 24, 2024By Yukito

The Postal Service has delivered millions of absentee ballots to state boards of elections and is prepared to receive millions more in the days leading up to Election Day, according to agency officials.

Less than two weeks before Election Day, voters cast more than 23 million ballots nationwide, according to an NBC News panel.

Absentee ballots account for approximately 58% of early voting – more than 13 million votes in total. The remaining 42% of votes cast were due to early in-person voting.

In the first three weeks of October, USPS delivered 97.8% of mail-in ballots on time within its standard first-class delivery time of one to five days. Delivered 99.9% of ballots within seven days.

In the 2020 and 2022 general elections, USPS delivered approximately 99.7% of ballots on time, and on average, ballots took approximately two days to arrive.

USPS Chief Customer Service and Marketing Officer Steve Montieth said the company’s delivery operations are “operating efficiently with no major disruptions reported.”

“We are able to handle a large volume of election mail in the final weeks of the election,” Montieth said.

Absentee ballots account for the vast majority of early voting in key battleground states including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona.

Pennsylvania voters cast more than one million mail-in ballots. The state does not have in-person early voting.

However, absentee ballots account for only 6% of early votes cast in North Carolina and Georgia. Hurricane Milton has hit parts of both states and recovery efforts are still ongoing.

In Florida, which is still dealing with the effects of Hurricane Helene, absentee ballots account for 66% of early votes cast.

Restoring normal operation

Montieth said USPS has restored postal service in areas affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton. USPS processing plants and most retail and delivery facilities in North Carolina and Florida reopened on October 22

Postal workers have delivered the backlog of delayed mail that arose before and after Hurricane Helene hit every available delivery point, but Monteith said “it may take some time to fully restore service to this area.”

All mail destined for North Carolina and Florida that was undeliverable at the address was sent to local post offices “where it will be delivered when it is safe to do so,” Montieth said.

The National Association of State Election Directors and the National Association of Secretaries of State have expressed concerns about USPS’s performance ahead of this year’s election.

Last month, the groups told USPS in a letter that over the past year, including this year’s primary election, local election offices received mail-in ballots days after the ballot counting deadline, even though they were mailed on time.

Montieth, however, said USPS is working closely with state and local election officials to resolve any delivery issues.

“The Postal Service has been and will continue to be in regular contact with local boards of elections in these states in the coming weeks so that we can quickly identify and resolve any election mail issues where retail locations and delivery facilities remain unavailable,” Montieth said. “When issues are brought to our attention, we address them quickly at the grassroots level and maintain ongoing communication, so when they are brought to our attention, we investigate and resolve them.”

USPS recommends that voters mail their absentee ballots at least seven days before their state’s deadline to ensure they are counted.

USPS introduces ‘extraordinary measures’

On Monday, USPS began implementing “extraordinary measures” to ensure ballots reach election officials on time.

Adrienne Marshall, USPS director of election services and government mail, said these steps – which USPS conducts annually – include moving election mail ahead of others during processing, arranging additional truck trips between facilities and daily “all clear” checks. to ensure that all Election Mail is cleared at postal facilities.

“The emergency measures are intended to expedite and improve the delivery of ballots once the Postal Service is able to identify the package as a ballot,” Marshall said.

Unlike its normal processes, USPS will also ensure that each mailed ballot receives a postmark.

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia require postage to be included in elections for mail-in ballots, often in the form of prepaid business mail that does not have a physical postage stamp.

Under normal circumstances, USPS only stamps mail with a postmark to prevent reuse of these stamps. However, in many states, the postmark serves as proof that a citizen mailed their ballot on time and still counts them – even if the ballot arrives after Election Day.

However, some states, including Georgia, will only accept ballots on Election Day, regardless of the postmark date.

“Our long-term policy is to ensure that every return ballot mailed in by voters is postmarked,” Marshall said.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told members of the House Appropriations Committee last month that the USPS emergency measures are also intended to “rescue late-mailed ballots that otherwise would not have reached election officials in time.”

“We make these heroic efforts to beat the clock, and we only use them when the risks inherent in deviating from our standard processes are justified by the risk of a voter missing a state’s election deadline. In cases like this, our priority is fast delivery,” DeJoy said.

The Postal Inspection Service, the enforcement division of the USPS, also sends staff to facilities to make sure USPS workers are following election mail procedures.

Additionally, postal inspectors work with other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to ensure that USPS operations are safe from physical and cybersecurity threats.

“We understand the critical role we play. “We are making every effort to ensure the delivery of ballots and all election mail,” USPIS Deputy Inspector Brendan Donahue told reporters.