WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Postal Service on Thursday said it has delivered more than 100 million blank or completed ballots since early September for the Nov. 3 presidential election.
Officials during a media briefing said the Postal Service was well positioned to deliver ballots in a timely fashion and outlined a number of steps.
In total, 523 million pieces of election mail have entered the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) network, up 162% over the 2016 election and there are still 12 days before the election. Oct. 5 has been the busiest single day with over 9 million ballots handled.
“Election mail will not be delayed,” said Kristin Seaver, the Postal Service’s chief retail and delivery officer. She noted election mail only represents 2% of total Postal Service volume. “We have prioritized all resources and areas of focus on the timely and secure delivery of election mail.”
Postal supervisors between Oct. 26 and Nov. 24 are “instructed to use extraordinary measures” to accelerate ballot deliveries, including extra deliveries, special pickups including Sunday deliveries and “running collected ballots to Boards of Elections on Election Day,” USPS said.