GREENSBORO, N.C. — A federal judge in Washington, D.C. ordered the U.S. Postal Service to immediately begin sweeping processing facilities in more than two dozen states for any mail-in ballots which had not been processed. The mandate stated those ballots must be immediately rush delivered as ballot deadlines neared.
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, nonpartisan, ordered sweeps in areas including centers in central Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Detroit, Atlanta, South Florida, and parts of Wisconsin. It comes after national delivery delays leading up to the election and concerns the agency wouldn't be able to deliver ballots on time, the Associated Press reported. The order had set a deadline for the end of the day on Tuesday but on Wednesday, lawyers for USPS said the agency couldn't act on the order to meet the deadline.
The postal service's ability to handle the surge of mail-in ballots became a concern after its new leader, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a major GOP donor, implemented a series of policy changes that delayed mail nationwide this summer. Delivery times have since rebounded but have consistently remained below the agency's internal goals of having more than 95% of first-class mail delivered within five days, with service in some battleground areas severely lagging, according to postal data.
USPS admitted in court filings that more than 300,000 mail-in ballots were untraceable and the processing rate at the Greensboro facility was around 72.92%.
The delays are part of the reasons many people who opted for absentee voting had to be creative to get around the bottle-neck.
"We filled it in and took it down to the board of elections in downtown Greensboro. We were afraid to put it in the mail," Jac Grimes of Greensboro said.
Philip Bogenberger a Charlotte-based spokesman for the Postal Service, responded to WFMY News 2's inquiries about delayed ballots and delayed voting counts on Friday, Nov. 6.
"The assumption that there are unaccounted ballots within the Postal Service network is inaccurate," Bogenberger said. "These ballots were delivered in advance of the election deadlines. We employed extraordinary measures to deliver ballots directly to local boards of elections. When this occurs, by design, these ballots bypass certain processing operations and do not receive a final scan. Instead, they are expedited directly to the boards of elections. We remain in close contact with state and local boards of elections and we do not currently have any open issues. Additionally, the Postal Inspection Service has physically inspected all plants that process ballots."
In North Carolina ballots postmarked by Election Day have until Nov. 12 to be included in the vote count.
"A lot of military vote absentee and those ballots have to come from overseas and if they don't make the deadline then the votes won't be counted either," Grimes said.
Grimes who is a marriage officiant said election mail is not the only thing that's been delayed over the past few months.
"We mailed a certified letter from the post office on Market Street to the Register Of Deeds also on Market Street in Greensboro and it took 20 days for it to hit their post office box," Grimes said.
The contentious issue of mail-in ballots has been a hot button topic throughout the campaign as President Trump has emphasized, without evidence, that they can lead to fraud.
Judge Sullivan wrote in the order that inspectors were to report to the court after the sweeps to confirm "in the most efficient manner available, that sweeps were conducted and that no ballots were left behind."
There are five states where the USPS has received low processing scores, where ballots are also not allowed to be turned in after Election Day. Those states are Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, New Hampshire, and Maine.
"Voting is a sacred right guaranteed by the Constitution and it doesn't matter how you voted, your vote should be counted and your vote should be part of the system," Grimes said.
A spokesperson for USPS sent this statement below in response to queries on this issue.
"Beginning in January 2020, the U.S. Postal Service began “all clear” sweeps to ensure Political Mail and Election Mail, which includes voter registration materials, requests for absentee ballots, and ballots themselves, were not left behind. These efforts have intensified as we’ve moved closer to Election Day.
The U.S Postal Inspection Service is in our facilities throughout the country ensuring the physical security of Election Mail in the workplace. Since Oct. 29, the Inspection Service has been conducting daily reviews at all 220 facilities that process ballots. Inspectors walk the facility and observe the conditions of mail. They also review Election and Political Mail logs for accuracy and completeness, review in and around staging areas for Election and Political Mail, scan for delayed mail, ensure Election Mail is processed expeditiously, and ensure no ballots are held for postage due.
Over the past 14 months, total mail volume surpassed 4.5 billion mailpieces for Political Mail and Election Mail tracked, representing an increase of 114 percent compared to the 2016 election cycle."
The judge said Postmaster General DeJoy may have to testify in court to explain.
