Sohn: U.S. Postal Service, our states create absentee ballot headaches for all of us

AP Photo by Ted S. Warren / Vote-by-mail ballots are shown in sorting trays in August at the King County Elections headquarters in Renton, Wash., south of Seattle. Never in U.S. history will so many people exercise the right on which their democracy hinges by marking a ballot at home.

By Pam Sohn September 5, 2020 5 min read

Much has been said and written in recent weeks about making a voting plan for the Nov. 3 general election – and about whether the U.S. Postal Service is ready to process and deliver election mail in time for an expected onslaught of mail-in and absentee ballots.

Now the Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General has weighed with a new report that says the Postal Service is not ready enough – repeat, not ready – to handle the expected deluge of mail-in and absentee ballot deliveries and returns for the 2020 election.

In an audit of election mail processing dated Aug. 31, the agency listed several potential trouble spots, including ballots mailed without bar codes used for tracking; ballot mailer designs that impede processing; election and political mail sent too close to Election Day for the mail service to deliver it on time; postmark requirements for ballots, and outdated voter addresses.

“Resolving these issues will require higher level partnerships and cooperation between the Postal Service and various state officials, including secretaries of state and state election boards,” the office said in a news release about the audit. “Timely delivery of Election and Political Mail is necessary to ensure the integrity of the U.S. election process.”