The U.S. Postal Service's inspector general is sounding the alarm as up to 3% of campaign and election-related mail was not processed in time for the presidential primary, Just the News reported. This could mean mail-in ballots in November's general election may be delayed or not counted at all.
An internal USPS audit found that ballots cast by mail in the 2024 primaries were processed 97.01% of the time, on average. By contrast, ballots handed in at election counting centers were counted 98.17% of the time.
Several states allow voting by mail, including eight that permit all elections to be conducted that way. Deficiencies in the mail system could impact the outcome as tens of thousands of votes go missing or uncounted.
"We found that Postal Service personnel did not always comply with policy and procedures regarding all clear certifications, Election and Political Mail logs, and audit checklists In addition, we identified processes and policies that could pose a risk of delays in the processing and delivery of Election and Political Mail," the inspector general's report said.
A misdelivered ballot here or there doesn't seem like a major problem on a small scale. However, considering how many states rely on the USPS for conducting their elections, the issue could become significant.
Currently, eight states—California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia—permit full voting by mail. Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, and Wyoming permit it for smaller elections.
Idaho, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New Mexico allow for smaller jurisdictions to conduct elections mainly by mail, while Nebraska and North Dakota allow counties to choose to do so. This means even the smallest percentage of ballots cast by mail that have problems could cost candidates thousands of potential votes.
This makes a major difference when extrapolated to a nationwide presidential election. The problem is that the postal service is just not keeping up with the stringent requirements of mail-in ballots.
This came from postal workers' failure to log ballots and election mail as required by law. The report also found a "lack of management oversight and monitoring to ensure that Election Mail and Political Mail audit checklists were properly completed with accurate information."
The report highlighted 10 solutions, most of which involved improving the service they were already entrusted with providing. Two of the recommendations, including one that suggested updating postmarking procedures for more accurate dating, were partially rejected by management.
The study, conducted during the primary elections from Dec. 1, 2023, through April 1, 2024, looked at 35 delivery units and 15 mail processing facilities. The report found that "12 of 15 (80 percent) mail processing facilities did not complete all clear certifications according to policy" set in place for political mail.
It seems that the postal service is limited in what it can deliver in relation to what needs to happen when entrusted with election mail. It's unconscionable that thousands of votes would be tossed or uncounted based on postal service failures, especially when they've been identified.
However, that's one of the many inherent problems with entrusting an election to the USPS instead of in-person polling centers. Many have been warning of this since the 2020 presidential election, which saw unprecedented vote-by-mail and the questions that arose from it.
Voting by mail is sold as a way to allow more people to vote more easily. However, the postal service's inconsistencies undermine confidence in the process which undermines confidence in the outcome, and that's dangerous.
