With several states already starting to send out ballots for the midterm elections, a new audit has found the U.S. Postal Service is well positioned to handle the upcoming surge in election mail.
USPS has implemented new policies in recent years to boost its ability to quickly get ballots out to voters and back to election officials, which are already paying dividends. Not all facilities are following all of the procedures, however, which the agency’s inspector general said could cause disruptions for voters casting ballots through the mail.
From April 1 through June 30—even as mailed ballots surged compared to the previous midterm election—USPS delivered 97.6% of election mail on time, up 1 percentage point from 2020 and 6 points ahead of its target. The IG noted the Postal Service has provided resources and training to the field for handling election mail; created election mail staging areas at its facilities; prioritized timely delivery of election mail for 2022; and implemented 13 of the auditor’s previous 14 recommendations regarding the use of barcodes, ballot mailpiece design and postmarking