Election officials warn that mail voting may be delayed and disrupted if persistent problems with the U.S. postal delivery system are not resolved before November’s elections.

In a letter sent to the Postal Service recently, groups representing national election officials said that “serious” questions remain regarding the agency’s capability to deliver election mail “timely and accurately,” as the November elections approach.

According to the National Association of Secretaries of State, and the National Association of State Election Directors, in the last year, local election offices received mailed ballots with the correct postmark, but they were days past the deadline. This meant that the ballots could not be counted.

The Postal Service returned election mail addressed correctly as undeliverable. This could have automatically made voters inactive. A “widespread lack of understanding and enforcement”, among Postal Service staff, has led to inconsistent guidance for election officials as well as significant delays.

The groups claimed that despite “repeated engagement” by the Postal Service with these concerns, there have been no improvements or concerted attempts to address them. Delays and errors can lead to voters being disenfranchised.

The letter of September 11 reads: “We urge you to take immediate, tangible corrective actions to address the ongoing issues with USPS’s election mail service.” Failure to do so could limit voter participation and undermine trust in the electoral process.

Mail voting is a long-standing tradition in the United States and has grown in popularity over the years. However, in 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the country.

A process that was already under scrutiny came to a new level of scrutiny after the former president Trump made baseless allegations about fraud in the 2020 elections. There is no evidence of significant mail voting fraud. However, some Trump allies are being charged with false statements about the election.

In 2020, 43 percent of American voters voted by mail. And 31 percent did so in 2022.

In response to these concerns, U.S. postmaster Louis DeJoy stated in a letter obtained The Hill that 99.9 percent (of the ballots) were delivered by voters to election officials in less than seven days in 2020. Postal Service records indicate that the number was closer 99.89 per cent. DeJoy stated in his letter that the “on-time” performance level was 99.93% for 2022.

In some states this may not be sufficient.

In 32 states, the mailed ballots have to be received on Election Day for them to be counted. In at least 10 states, ballots that are postmarked on Election Day must be received within seven days by the election officials.

Scott Schwab, Kansas Secretary of state, told DeJoy in a letter dated earlier this month that more than 1,000 ballots for the Aug. 6, primary election were not counted by his office because they had arrived too late or with no postmark. And ballots continue to arrive. Kansas counts mail-in ballots if they are postmarked within three days after the election and received before the polls close on Election Day.

Susan Beals, the Virginia Department of Elections’ Commissioner, said in a statement earlier this month that she was “most concerned” about this year’s General Election. Virginia will count mail votes received by Election Day if they are postmarked before 12 noon on the third following day.

The Postal Service has been trying to “modernize”, in order to cut costs. This is a major cause of concern. As part of this process, dozens of local facilities have been consolidated into megacenters throughout the country.

DeJoy stated in May that he would not allow any further consolidations to take place until after the elections. However, the processing facilities which have already been merged may add additional days and exceed state deadlines.

A Postal Service Inspector General report from April found that the opening a consolidated centre in Richmond, Va. caused a worsening of service, increased absenteeism, and cancelled and late mail transport trips. The report also concluded that the public had been inadequately informed of the changes.

“I was a county official and we had a nearby processing center. Kim Wyman, a former Washington Secretary of State, said, “I could go there and meet the postmaster, i could meet with staff, and we could work out problems.”

She said that the USPS has become more efficient and is sending the same ballots out-of-state to regional facilities for towns or cities that are near state borders. “This can add up to two extra days in processing and transit, which could affect voters living in states that have an election-day cutoff.”

Annie Norman, campaign director at The Save the Post Office Coalition said that rules and regulations vary “pretty widely” between states, which places burdens on election workers in state and local elections while also causing an unequal access for voters to the ballot.

Norman stated, “We believe that a person’s ZIP code should not determine their ability or inability to participate in democratic processes.”

DeJoy wrote in his response to the groups that election mail “routinely exceeds” the performance of its regular service and that many concerns raised by these groups had already been “discussed” and “addressed.” He also said he was “confident” about the preparations made for the mail delivery system.

Both Wyman and Kathy Boockvar – former secretary of commonwealth Pennsylvania – urged voters to avoid any delays by learning their state’s deadlines, and to take initiative to make sure their votes count.

Boockvar warned voters: “Don’t wait.” Ignore all the talk about postal delays, litigation, and other challenges we cannot control.

She added that the best way to resolve these issues was for voters to request their mail ballots and vote as soon as they can.