Audit identifies ballot-handling failures at some US Postal Service facilities

A US Postal Service Office of Inspector General audit has identified procedural failures in the handling of some mail ballots during this year’s primary elections, including inadequate staff training, tracking deficiencies, inaccurate postmarks and dispatch errors.

The audit, dated 4 September, examined 14 processing facilities and 73 delivery units across eight states. Training materials were absent at 22 delivery units, while management at 10 of 82 facilities was unaware of the correct procedures for postmarking ballots.

At five of nine processing facilities examined, staff sometimes used inaccurate dates when hand-stamping ballots. At one Pennsylvania facility, 56 ballots received the wrong postmark date. In a separate case at a Harrisburg processing plant, 108 ballots had to be expedited to Pittsburgh on election morning.

The audit said nearly 99 per cent of about 6.3 million ballots that the Postal Service could track were processed on time. That measure concerned Postal Service handling and did not necessarily establish that ballots arrived with election officials before applicable deadlines. The audit identified risks of delay or rejection, but did not establish widespread ballot rejection.

The findings come as the US Supreme Court considers proposed rules, linked to a March executive order, that would give the Postal Service new responsibilities related to mail voting. The rules’ final scope and timing remain unresolved, while election officials and postal workers have questioned whether they could be implemented safely before November.

The Postal Service accepted the audit’s recommendations apart from one concerning prompt notification of customers affected by new regional transport plans. In its response, the agency acknowledged instances in which procedures were not followed but said overall ballot-mail performance was strong.