Postmaster general is confident about ability to process mail-in ballots

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The Postal Service has been undergoing rapid changes, including the opening of large hubs, but some of those changes are being paused before the election to ensure they don't interfere with performance, DeJoy said. “The American people should be confident.” It's a far cry from four years ago, when DeJoy, just a few months into the job, was being criticized as a Donald Trump crony who was dismantling mail-processing machines and removing blue postal boxes to undermine the election as Trump, the president at the time, sowed distrust in the Postal Service. Postal Service officials briefed news reporters Thursday on measures that are being taken to ensure election mail reaches its destinations, building on its performance in 2020, when 97.9% of ballots were returned to election officials within three days, and in 2022, when 98.9% of election mail was delivered within three days. U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly, a frequent critic of changes under DeJoy, said Thursday that he's confident Postal Service workers will “will ensure every ballot cast by mail is safely and securely delivered.” But the Virginia Democrat also said that oversight is important and that "Congress must remain vigilant on decisions made by the postmaster general in the days leading up to this election.” The Postal Service is proceeding with a 10-year, $40 billion Postal Service modernization plan in which it's renovating aging facilities, opening modern regional hubs in Georgia, Virginia, Oregon and elsewhere, and starting the process of purchasing 100,000 vehicles to replace older delivery trucks dating to 1987.