Postal Service chief 'fully committed' to timely US ballot deliveries

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said on Monday he is "personally fully committed" to ensuring all 2024 presidential election ballots are delivered in a timely fashion and vowed to respond to concerns raised by state and local officials.

A group of about three dozen election officials from the National Association of State Election Directors and other groups on Wednesday raised serious concerns about USPS's ability to deliver millions of ballots for the 2024 presidential election, citing questions "about processing facility operations, lost or delayed election mail, and front-line training deficiencies impacting USPS’s ability to deliver election mail in a timely and accurate manner."

DeJoy said in a letter released on Monday that he would hold a call with state officials to address specific concerns.

The officials said that, despite repeated meetings with USPS election staff, "we have not seen improvement or concerted efforts to remediate our concerns."

DeJoy said the USPS Office of Inspector General is auditing its plants and delivery units and will report any election mail issues they discover "and we will address those issues expeditiously."

Starting Oct. 1, USPS will deploy ballot monitors and others in processing, retail and delivery units "to reinforce and amplify our policies and procedures on the ground"

USPS said on average it is currently delivering mail in 2.7 days but continues "to recommend as a common-sense measure that voters should mail their completed ballot before Election Day, and at least one week prior to their state’s deadline."

The inspector general has said 46% of votes were cast by mail in the November 2020 presidential election, compared with 21% in the 2016 election.

USPS said in the 2020 general election, it delivered 99.89% of ballots from voters to election officials within seven days. Voting by mail in some states is set to start in the coming weeks.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)