U.S. Postal Service management on Wednesday reminded employees that the “extraordinary measures” it has taken in the runup to the midterms must continue for three more weeks as the agency seeks to deliver late arriving ballots to election offices in time to be counted.
Those special steps, which USPS typically implements around election seasons, will remain in effect through Nov. 29. The measures include extra deliveries and collections, special pickups, expanded hours at processing plants, mail sorting plans to expedite ballot deliveries and the removal of some ballots to bypass normal processing to allow for local turnaround.
Many states allow for ballots to arrive at election offices well after Election Day, provided they were placed into the mail on or before Nov. 8. With dozens of federal races around the country still too close to call, those late-arriving ballots could make the difference in who emerges victorious. USPS management said in a message to employees Wednesday that they must “make every effort, including taking extraordinary measures, to deliver remaining undelivered ballots to the appropriate board of elections as quickly as possible and no later than the applicable extended deadline.”