Election officials from around the country accused the US Postmaster General on Wednesday of not adequately preparing for the Nov. 5 general election.
In an unusually sincere way joint open letterThe National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has failed to address numerous deficiencies in the US Postal Service that election officials say could lead to fewer people voting and a loss of confidence in elections. electoral system.
“State and local election officials need a dedicated partner in the USPS,” the letter reads. “We request that you take immediate and substantial corrective action to address the ongoing performance issues with USPS election mail service. Failure to do so will risk limiting voter participation and confidence in the electoral process.”
Mail-in voting has become extremely popular since it was widely introduced in 2020 as states sought to change laws during the Covid pandemic to allow citizens to vote without risking crowds. In 2020, about 70 million people voted by mail, and in 2022, more than 35 million people voted. according to Election Assistance Commission investigation.
A USPS representative did not immediately comment on the letter.
USPS inspector general in July published a report found that the agency did not always follow USPS procedures when handling election mail.
At an Aug. 29 news conference, USPS chief customer and marketing officer Steven Monteith said the USPS is “taking extraordinary measures across the organization as we approach the election, and that’s our full focus.”
Despite “pockets of service issues,” the agency’s increased efforts on election mail “make sure we’re going to have a great election season,” Monteith said.
Election officials have repeatedly raised concerns with the USPS but have not seen adequate progress, the letter said Wednesday.
“Over the past year, election officials across the country have raised serious questions about processing facility operations, lost or delayed election mail, and front-line training deficiencies that affect USPS’s ability to deliver election mail in a timely and accurate manner.” the letter says.
“Despite repeated contact with USPS Election and Political Mail headquarters staff and state/regional Customer Relations Managers, we have not seen improvement or a concerted effort to address our concerns,” the letter states.
The letter echoes the controversy at the National Association of State Election Directors conference in Minnesota in July, where officials from multiple states expressed strong concerns directly with USPS officials during the conversation.
“Under the current circumstances, elections are defined by these delays,” Kansas Director of Elections Bryan Caskey told a USPS official. “You have to be better. We have to be better. I just want to make sure you hear why we are so sad.”
Election officials’ letter cited three specific concerns. He warns that USPS employees are often inadequately trained, that long mail delivery times risk some ballots arriving too late to be counted, and that the number of ballots returned as undeliverable is increasing.