US Postal Service outlines plans to handle millions of ballots for November 3 elections

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - ‌The head of ​the US ​Postal Service said Thursday the agency is "absolutely ready" to handle millions of ballots for the November 3 midterm elections that will determine control of ‌the US Congress and other key races.

"Everybody is engaged and absolutely ready ⁠for the next two weeks," US Postmaster General David Steiner told reporters. Earlier this month, the Postal Service ‌said it would take a ‌series of "extraordinary measures" for the 2026 election, including extending hours at some retail locations and expediting handling, extra deliveries and special pickups of ballots.

The extraordinary measures start ​October 24 "to expedite completed ballots to election offices during the final stretch of the election season," Steiner said, adding they include "local turnaround to bypass all processing when ⁠it's absolutely necessary to get ballots on time."

USPS said it was committed to delivering all ballots placed in the mail ​and voters should drop ballots in the mail at least a week before ballots are due to local officials.

On September 14, the ​US Supreme Court declined to let USPS enforce ‌a rule targeting mail-in ballots, dealing a setback to President Donald Trump's effort to restrict voting by mail. USPS said it would not ⁠enforce the rule under the order.

The agency adopted the measure after Trump issued a March executive order aimed at tightening rules governing mail voting.

In 2024, USPS delivered 99.2 million ballots to and ⁠from voters in the presidential election. About 30% of votes were cast by mail in the November ​2024 presidential election, down from 46% in 2020.

Trump's fellow Republicans are locked in a tight battle to retain control of Congress in the midterms. Restricting mail-in ballots would stand to benefit Republicans ‌because Democratic voters disproportionately use mail-in ballots, according to various surveys.

Under the rule that was blocked, states would have had to provide ‌lists of mail ballot recipients to USPS and use agency-approved outbound and return ballot mail envelopes ⁠outfitted with unique barcodes. The Postal ‌Service could then have refused ​to send out ballots that did not comply or were associated with voters not appearing on the lists.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by ‌Hugh Lawson)

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