USPS under fire for poor service, could affect mail-ins

Recent statistics indicate a number of deficiencies in the USPS' service in many areas of the country, and people are worried that their ballots may get rejected or even lost.

According to Newsweek, the USPS has stated that its goal is to have first class mail delivered within one to three days across the country at least 95% of the time, but recent data has shown them to be far from that mark.

Underperforming mail districts countrywide include Detroit Metro, Philadelphia Metro, Central Pennsylvania, Ohio Central and South Florida, according to a report published on Friday.

The report also found that only 85.6% of mail across the nation during a test period in the middle of October was delivered within the three day window. The last test performed earlier in 2020 revealed an average of 91%.

"The Postal Service is fully committed and actively working to handle the increase in election mail volume across the country over the next two weeks," commented David Partenheimer, a spokesperson for the USPS.

"To put it in context, the Postal Service delivers 433 million pieces of mail in a day. Even if all Americans were to vote by mail this year, 330 million ballots over the course of the election would be only three-quarters of what the Postal Services delivers in a single day."

Partenheimer continued, mentioning that all election-related mail will automatically be considered to be first class all of the time (a policy which was not previously in place officially), and that overtime hours are being authorized to allow for a higher frequency of collections leading up to the election.