Oct. 22 – Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows urges absentee voters to be aware of possible mail delays. Election officials across the country have expressed concerns about the U.S. Postal Service’s ability to handle the influx of election mail.
“We’ve definitely heard about mail delays here in Maine,” Bellows said in an interview Monday.
She is encouraged by the commitments the Postal Service has made to prioritize ballots, but her office is still urging people to use drop boxes or personally return their ballot to the county clerk to reduce the burden on the Postal Service. lighten up and give themselves more opportunities. certainty that their ballot will be received before the November 5 elections.
Election officials across the country have raised concerns in recent months about the Postal Service’s ability to handle a large volume of election mail this year. In September, Bellows and other secretaries of state wrote a letter to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy asking the Postal Service to address inadequate employee training, long delivery times and the increase in mail returned as undeliverable.
Bellows said Monday that she and her staff have met with DeJoy twice and are in regular contact with Maine Postal Service leadership.
“We know the Postal Service is committed to taking extraordinary measures to prioritize ballots and search distribution centers on Election Day and deliver any outstanding ballots to polling places by 8 p.m., when polls close,” Bellows said.
A spokesperson for the Postal Service in Maine did not respond Monday to questions about whether Maine is currently experiencing delays in mail delivery, the concerns of secretaries of state and whether the USPS has any advice for voters to ensure their ballots are returned municipal office on time.
DELAYS WELL DOCUMENTED
Mail delivery delays in Maine in recent years have been well documented. In 2023, a federal audit of five postal stations in southern Maine, conducted in response to requests from Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, found deficiencies at all five locations, including delayed mail that did not properly reported and incorrect scanning of package codes.
On Monday, the office of Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said King has been looking into concerns in Maine and across the country and shared a letter he and several other senators sent to DeJoy in June expressing concerns about supply issues and asking whether the Postal Service is prepared for the 2024 election.
King’s office also shared a July response from the Postal Service’s Scott Slusher, in which Slusher said the Postal Service has “proven processes for the proper handling and timely delivery of election mail” and is working closely with election officials at all levels of government to ensure a good handling and timely delivery of election mail. mail design and delivery.
The Postal Service will also take steps such as expedited handling, special collections and additional deliveries that have been used in previous elections, Slusher said.
At the time of the letter, the Postal Service was also considering a proposed move of mail processing from a post office in Hampden, Maine, to one in Scarborough, although the service has since announced it will no longer pursue that change.
In his letter, Slusher said the Postal Service delivered 105.4 million ballots to and from voters during the 2022 midterm elections, with 99.93% delivered by voters to election officials within seven days and 98.96% delivered within three days.
“As the popularity and use of voting by mail continues across the country, the Postal Service will remain fully focused on delivering to election officials and to voters who choose to use the mail to participate in elections,” Slusher wrote .
Annie Clark, a spokesperson for Collins, said the senator fought to keep the Hampden processing center because its closure would have caused significant delays. “In addition, she continues to bring delivery issues brought to her six state offices to the attention of USPS officials,” Clark said in an email. “She has also raised her concerns about service issues in Maine directly with the Postmaster General.”
Pingree said Monday that she and dozens of other members of the House of Representatives recently signed a letter led by Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisconsin, expressing ongoing concerns about mail delays and urging DeJoy to reverse course change regarding the plans she said. are a leading cause of delays that disproportionately affect rural residents.
“In the midst of such a crucial election, voters should only be concerned about the issues at hand and making their voices heard, not whether their ballot will arrive in time to be counted,” Pingree said in a statement.
A spokesperson for Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, said he expects the Postal Service “will do everything in its power to ensure absentee ballots are delivered on time” and that he is working to “ plans to reduce on-time mail delivery. standards” in Maine.
“He also reminds Mainers that any voter concerned about their ballot not arriving by mail on time can personally deliver their ballot to the county clerk,” Golden spokesman Mario Moretto said in an email.
VOTERS ENCOURAGED NOT TO WAIT
Bellows said DeJoy has said the Postal Service will not penalize postmasters who decide to use local delivery instead of having ballots diverted to distribution centers for delivery before the election.
For voters who choose to vote by mail, she said it is important to ensure ballots are returned in official absentee ballot return envelopes. There is no deadline for voters to postmark their ballots, but all ballots must be received by county clerks by 8 p.m. on Election Day.
“My recommendation to voters is to make a plan,” Bellows said. “If you can vote absentee today, don’t wait. The sooner you can cast that ballot and return the ballot, you will have peace of mind.”
Maine has an online tracking system that allows voters to check whether their ballots have been received and accepted. If a voter’s ballot has not been received by Election Day, Bellows said they have the option to vote in person and have the absentee ballot canceled. This option only applies to ballots that have not yet been received and cannot be used to change a ballot that has already been accepted.
“If you see that your ballot has not been returned by Election Day, you have not sacrificed your right to vote,” Bellows said. “You can go to the polls on Election Day and let your clerk know what happened. If they confirm that your ballot was not received, they may spoil or reject the original ballot and you can vote at the polls.”
While Maine has sometimes struggled in the past with on-time mail delivery and staffing at the Postal Service, Bellows said the state “hasn’t seen a major problem” with delays in past elections.
“Maine postal workers and leadership have shown tremendous commitment to prioritizing ballots,” she said. “So we are hopeful that in November we will see again that the same measures will result in ballots getting to the clerks on time.”
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