The United States Postal Service (USPS) is in a period they call "extraordinary measures" to ensure ballots make it to the Elections Office on time.
Postal carriers are putting in longer hours as the midterm election brings a surge in mail. They're loading up more mail than usual as election pickups and deliveries enter the home stretch.
To move ballots swiftly through the mail, USPS says they "accelerate and enhance the delivery of ballot mail," including:
- Extra deliveries and collections
- Special pickups
- Implementing a "sorting plan" at processing facilities to expedite delivery of ballots to boards of elections
- Localizing the handling and transportation of ballots
To move ballots swiftly through the mail, the USPS said it works to "accelerate and enhance the delivery of ballot mail." According to the USPS, those measures include extra deliveries and collections, special pickups, a sorting plan at processing facilities to expedite delivery of ballots to boards of elections, and localizing the handling and transportation of ballots.
SLO local and USPS customer Maya Zavaleta certainly noticed when her mail didn't arrive at its typical time.
"I heard somebody around my mailbox. I said, 'Who is that?' And it was my mail person. I was like, oh my gosh. And they had their light on in their headlamp. So yeah, it was definitely late," she said.
Mailboxes are also filling up. KSBY News reporter Jessica Roe discovered a collection box in front of San Luis Obispo City Hall was overflowing. After reporting it to USPS, a carrier was dispatched and found an obstruction.
A USPS spokesperson said that if anyone comes across a full box well before the posted collection time, call 1-800-ASK-USPS.
County Clerk-Recorders recommend that, at this point, you take your ballot directly to the election center or put it in a county ballot drop box. However, USPS says that in the 2024 election, 99.6 percent of ballots from voters arrived within three days.
"The Postal Service is confident and ready to deliver a successful Election Mail season," Postmaster General David Steiner said in a press release on USPS.com. "[W]e share a common goal: instilling confidence in all Americans that their Election Mail will be handled securely, and delivered reliably."
"Our Postal Service employees are diligently working to process and deliver ballots on time, and we ask that voters do their part and mail early," Adrienne Marshall, director of Election and Government Mail Services at the Postal Service, said. The USPS said its long-standing recommendation is that domestic non-military voters mail their completed ballots before Election Day, and at least one week before they must be received by their election office.
The USPS said the nation's postal network is currently operating without any major reported disruptions, and service performance across the nation is strong. According to the agency, through October 9, ballot mail delivery performance scores were high, with 97.98 percent of ballot mail delivered on time when compared with the Postal Service's service standard.
"The Postal Service has a long and strong record of successfully delivering Election Mail," Postal Service Board of Governors Chair Amber McReynolds said. "That record is not accidental, and it reflects extensive planning, close coordination with scores of stakeholders, and the training and commitment of hundreds of thousands of postal employees who understand the importance of this responsibility."
The USPS said its processes and procedures for this year will be consistent with previous election cycles, and that it is not implementing or enforcing the Ballot Mail for Federal Elections rule for the 2026 General Election.
The agency said the U.S. Postal Inspection Service partners with the Postal Service to ensure a successful election season.
"In this election cycle, and every election cycle, the Postal Inspection Service is committed to ensuring the safe and secure delivery of Election Mail, the integrity of our elections, and the protection of election officials and election offices from threatening and dangerous mail," Brendan Donahue, the organization's deputy chief inspector, said. "With more than 170 million delivery points nationwide, upholding the security of Election Mail, and all mail, is a team effort."
On the question of postmarks, the USPS said it has instructed employees nationwide on its ballot postmarking processes and procedures and reviewed the standard operating procedures for ballot postmarking. The agency said it has not changed its postmarking practices, but adjustments to transportation operations mean some mailpieces do not arrive at originating processing facilities the same day they are mailed. Because postmarks are generally applied at those facilities, the agency said the date on the postmarks may not necessarily match the date that the mailpiece was collected by a letter carrier, dropped off at a retail location, or placed in a collection box.
According to the USPS, voters can ensure that their completed ballot-return envelope receives a postmark, and that the date on the postmark aligns with the date of mailing, by bringing the ballot to a Postal Service retail location and requesting a manual postmark at the retail counter when dropping it off. The agency said manual postmarks are applied free of charge.
The USPS said the Postal Inspection Service asks the public to report suspicious mail and Election Mail-related security or criminal incidents by calling the Postal Inspection Service national hotline at 877-876-2455, or reporting it online at www.USPIS.gov/report.
If you have a story idea you would like to send to KSBY Reporter Jessica Roe, you can reach her directly via email at jessica.roe@ksby.com.
