Portage County has not reduced postal infrastructure, USPS says
Amid worries about the U.S. Postal Service’s ability to support elections this year, a photo circulated on Facebook of a USPS truck hauling several blue drop boxes, sparking fears that the Kent branch was reducing boxes and access to Post Office services.
We spoke with Naddia Dhalai, a strategic communications specialist for the USPS, who said services in Kent and Portage County have not been reduced.
One of the mailboxes in the picture did come from Kent but was removed from service because of rain damage, Dhalai said.
Despite national slowdowns and budget cuts, Dhalai said there has been no reduction in USPS services in Portage County. She added that neither mail sorting machines nor human resources have been removed ahead of the election.
The U.S. Postal Service has been struggling due to the pandemic, seeing sales from mail services, its largest sales category, sharply decline. Pressure to meet stricter operational rules and transportation times, implemented by Republican mega-donor and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, has had an effect as well. Nearly 7 percent of the country’s first class mail was delayed earlier this year as a result, according to a report by The Washington Post.
Threats of budget cuts, postage delays and the removal of mail sorting machines are all playing into the fears of voters and creating some logistical challenges for elections officials. When someone requests a mail-in ballot but then arrives at the polls early and in person, elections officials have to cancel the previous ballot and issue a new one.
The Portage County Board of Elections has repeatedly reassured local voters that mail-in voting is safe. It is also possible to track your ballot simply by entering your name on this website.
“The process of canceling and reissuing a ballot takes five minutes, rather than the 90 seconds it takes to process a voter who did not request a mail ballot,” reads a Facebook post from the Portage County Board of Elections. “This, in part, is why voters are waiting in line as long as they are. Be kind to your fellow voters — vote the mail ballot we sent you!”
The U.S. Postal Service has also sought to reassure voters it is doing all it can to ensure the election goes smoothly. In an Oct. 1 press release, DeJoy named it the organization’s top priority.
“The U.S. Postal Service’s number one priority between now and the November election is the secure, on-time delivery of the nation’s Election Mail. The Postal Service, our unions, and the more than 630,000 postal employees are united in delivering on this sacred duty,” DeJoy said.
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