USPS ‘ready to deliver’ ballots in midterms without mail-in voting EO restrictions 

Top officials at the Postal Service say the agency is ready to deliver mail-in ballots on time ahead of November’s midterm elections, using the same playbook from previous elections. 

USPS executives told reporters on Thursday that the agency will be deploying the same “extraordinary measures” from previous election cycles, and that the agency has a solid record using these measures to ensure ballots get to election officials on time. 

USPS officials said this election cycle will largely be business as usual for the agency, after the Supreme Court blocked the agency from implementing an executive order President Donald Trump signed in March imposing new rules on mail-in voting. 

A final rule USPS released in August would have required states planning to send mail-in or absentee ballots to provide USPS with a list of participating voters. The final rule also established new barcode and envelope-formatting requirements. 

USPS on its website states that it is not “implementing or enforcing” its final rule, and that “our processes and procedures for this year will be consistent with previous election cycles.”

Postmaster General David Steiner said USPS “is ready to deliver a successful election mail season.” 

USPS will begin its “extraordinary measures” starting Oct. 24 to expedite the delivery of completed mail-in ballots to election officials. Those include extra deliveries and collections, special pickups, expanded hours at processing plants, Sunday collections and visual checks of various points for ballots. 

Steiner said USPS has proven capable of carrying out these extraordinary measures, and that “these procedures have proven successful in past general elections.” 

“We are all systems go for next month's midterm general election,” he said.

USPS’ law enforcement agency, the Postal Inspection Service, is investigating suspicious letters, including several sent to state officials who oversee election operations. 

Deputy Chief Inspector Brendan Donahue said USPIS and the FBI are investigating a “series of suspicious mailing that have been sent,” including to several secretaries of state’s offices

“This is a series of suspicious mailings. Some of the letters have contained an unknown substance, and we're working closely with our law enforcement partners to respond to each incident,” Donahue said. “I can confirm that we have intercepted some of these letters, and they are in law enforcement possession.”

NBC News reported that in Ohio, Louisiana and Oklahoma were sent packages with an unknown substance. Donahue declined to comment on the number of suspicious letters USPIS is investigating. 

The National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) and the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) said in a statement Wednesday that they are “deeply concerned by these incidents,” and that “threats against election officials and workers have no place in our democracy.” 

“Those who administer our elections should never fear for their safety while carrying out their essential duties,” they said. 

Incidents like this occurred in previous election cycles. The Guardian reported that in the 2024 election cycle, 14 election offices received mail containing a white powder. In some cases, the substance was determined to be flour. In 2023, the Associated Press reported that election offices in six states also received mail containing white powder – which in some cases contained trace amounts of fentanyl. 

Amber McReynolds, chairwoman of the USPS Board of Governors, said the agency has more than enough capacity to deliver ballots on time. USPS processes and delivers about 370 million pieces of mail six days a week. In the 2024 presidential election, more than 165 million individuals voted and USPS handled nearly 100 million mail-in ballots.  

“That 165 million total votes is not even half of the volume that we handle on a daily basis,” McReynolds said. 

McReynolds said that intelligent mail barcodes that power ballot-tracking systems and visibility of election mail within the USPS network “are so vital for the overall structure to improve.” USPS provides nonbinding guidance to states on envelopes and barcodes, but its final rule blocked by the Supreme Court would have allowed the agency to reject ballots that didn’t meet its standards.

"This work is about more than operational effectiveness. It's also about the public's trust. Every eligible voter should feel confident that the processing and delivery of election mail and the administration of our elections are handled professionally and securely, and that the people involved in these processes are doing everything they can to honorably fulfill their responsibilities,” McReynolds said.

USPS Chief Customer and Marketing Officer Steve Monteith said that in the 2024 presidential election and the 2022 midterm election, USPS delivered 99.9% of ballots from voters to election officials within seven days – and that on average, USPS delivered ballots in less than two days. 

“The total number of ballots and so forth is a small percentage, about 1% of the total of what we deliver,” Monteith said. 

Adrienne Marshall, USPS director of election and government mail services, said the agency’s goal is to “meet or exceed the impressive election mail performance we had in the 2022 and 2024 elections.”

USPS generally recommends voters drop their completed ballots in the mail at least a week before their state election office’s deadline. Some states may recommend allowing even more time. 

USPS as part of cost-cutting measures, has reconfigured its postal processing facilities and transportation network. As part of its “Regional Transportation Optimization” (RTO) strategy, the agency is running trucks less often between processing plants and post offices to transport mail. A recent study from the Brookings Institution found that roughly 40% of mail-in ballots returned by voters come from places where the nearest post office is impacted by RTO. 

As a result, the postmark applied at USPS processing facilities may happen a day after a voter dropped their ballot off in the mail. Voters can request a same-day postmark from the clerk behind the counter of their local postal office. 

Monteith said RTO has been “about 65% to 70% implemented,” but that implementation will be paused temporarily for the election cycle, starting on Oct. 17. 

"We'll have no more implementations of RTO. So what's in place is in place. The recommendation for voters is what we've always said, which if you choose to vote by mail, make sure you know what the requirements are for your election jurisdiction, and then mail at least seven days before that ballot is due," he said.