Postmaster General says Mail Ballots will be Delivered Timeously

Residents of Oregon have until October 15 to register for the upcoming election. Voters have been given until Election Day on November 5 to mail their ballots or to hand deliver them to official drop boxes.

In the meantime, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy addressed a news briefing earlier this at which he appealed to the public to assist the U.S. Postal Service by voting early if using a mail ballot and assured voters that mail ballots will be delivered on time.

Voting by Mail is No Stranger to Oregonians

Voting by mail is not strange to Oregonians as the state became the first in the nation, more than two decades ago, to conduct its elections with ballots posted by mail.

DeJoy was a Major Donor to the Trump Reelection Campaign

The postmaster general made this statement at a news brief earlier this week. This followed the 2020 debacle when public outcries became more volatile as it became known that DeJoy was a major donor to the Trump reelection campaign.

At that time, he was accused of undermining the election by dismantling mail processing machines, removing blue postal boxes, cutting back on overtime, and stopping extra and late truck deliveries.

Despite the dents to DeJoy’s reputation, the result was that 97.9% of the ballots were returned to election officials within three days.

DeJoy told the briefing that the accusations against him in 2020 were ‘just crazy.’ He said the allegations were more frustrating because, when he took over the U.S. Postal Service, he had worked seven days a week to remedy an organization that would run out of cash within two months.

The U.S. Postal Service is in its Best-Ever Operating Position

He told news reporters this week that the Postal Service was in ‘great shape’ for the 2024 election, adding that his organization was in the best operating position it had ever been.

The Postal Service is going ahead with a 10-year modernization program that will cost $40 billion. Aging facilities will be renovated, and modern hubs opened in various regions, including Oregon. It is planned to purchase 100,000 vehicles to replace aging delivery trucks, some of which were bought in 1987.

DeJoy said the Postal Service will be building on its 2020 performance when over 135 million votes were posted by mail. DeJoy said the efficiency of ballot paper deliveries will hopefully creep closer to the 100% mark in the 2024 election.

Virginia Democrat Gerry Connolly (U.S. Rep) said he was confident that the Postal Service would act efficiently in its delivery of ballot papers, but that Congress had to remain alert to decisions made by DeJoy in the days leading to the election.

Overview

The U.S. Postal Service is fully geared to handle ‘a flood’ of ballot papers expected to be posted as mail ballots for the November 5 election.

The postmaster general says his organization is in better shape than it was four years ago when it still managed to deliver more than 97% of mail ballots within three days.