USPS Still Not Processing Election Mail Fast Enough, States Say

A USPS carrier gets into her truck to deliver mail in Philadelphia in May. (Matt Rourke/Associated Press)

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The U.S. Postal Service still isn’t processing election mail on time, even after being ordered by judges to halt disruptive changes like banning worker overtime and late delivery trips, Pennsylvania’s attorney general said.

USPS data shows the postal agency’s performance levels are down more than 5% from where they were before the changes took effect in July and “continue to be lower than at any point in 2020,” Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a federal court filing Oct. 19 in Philadelphia.

“Despite being subject to multiple injunctions, defendants have not improved their service performance,” said Shapiro, who wants U.S. District Judge Gerald Austin McHugh to appoint an independent monitor to ensure the USPS abides by court orders.

RELATED: USPS: Election Is at Risk Over Conflicting Injunctions

Shapiro, who’s leading one of three multistate suits against the USPS, said USPS compliance with rules about election-mail processing and daily delivery is supposed to be at 100%. According to USPS data, compliance is as low as 85% in one division and some units aren’t reporting figures at all.

And late and extra trips, which are supposed to be reinstated under the injunction, have barely nudged up and are nowhere near pre-July levels, suggesting more could be done to improve performance, he said.

Democrats have accused Postmaster General Louis DeJoy of undermining the USPS just as the nation is expecting a record surge in use of mail-in ballots due to the pandemic. The postal agency didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

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