DeJoy says USPS ready for 2024 election as members press on delivery declines

WASHINGTON — Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government that the U.S. Postal Service is prepared to deliver ballots for the 2024 election, while lawmakers pressed him on declines in on-time delivery after recent operational changes.

DeJoy said the Postal Service has taken steps to manage election mail and would use “extraordinary measures” close to Election Day to move late ballots, adding that in 2020 the service delivered “99.89% of the ballots … within 7 days.” He described training campaigns, daily operational reporting and special regional teams intended to ensure ballots are identified and prioritized.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle pressed DeJoy on specific performance problems that have emerged after pilots of the Delivering for America plan and other operational changes. Rep. Pokan raised statistics from Wisconsin and Virginia showing large drops in on-time service after Local Transportation Optimization pilots, and asked why those pilots would be extended nationally after producing those results. “When you did that processing changes to Wisconsin, you significantly slowed down our delivery,” Pokan said.

DeJoy acknowledged implementation delays in some locations but defended broader changes as necessary to create an integrated mail-and-package network that he said will make the service financially sustainable and, ultimately, more reliable. He said the Postal Service has invested in facilities and put new operational oversight in place, including an operational-precision group and more frequent executive review of election mail.

Members also sought specifics about ballot handling, chain of custody and electronic tracking. Rep. Edwards asked DeJoy to walk through “a day in the life of an absentee ballot.” DeJoy described outbound tendering from election boards, handoffs at post offices and plants, and special October processes in which some local ballots are hand-stamped and routed straight back to election officials. He said barcodes (IMB) on ballots allow election boards to track pieces when boards adopt them and that the Postal Service can share that data with election officials.

Several members raised local examples: the chair cited disruptions that routed Northwest Ohio mail through Cleveland in 2020, Rep. Carl pressed about the closure of a Spanish Fort, Ala., retail office and earlier claims that USPS had been ‘‘about to run out of cash in 60 days,’’ and Rep. Hinson noted a letter from state election officials asking for more accessible on-the-ground staff. DeJoy said closures of some retail outlets were driven by lease economics and reiterated that the organization faces both operational and financial challenges from years of deferred maintenance and declines in mail volume.

On rural service, a member read a Washington Post story and asked whether consolidations will slow service for rural Americans. DeJoy disputed the premise that consolidations would abandon rural areas, said the Postal Service is committed to six-day delivery everywhere and described expected service variances while the system is adjusted.

Lawmakers asked for more detail and for documentation. At the close of the hearing the chair asked members to submit written questions within seven days and requested that the Postal Service respond to the committee’s questions within 15 days. The hearing adjourned after roughly an hour and a half of testimony and questioning.

The record includes references members asked DeJoy to address in writing, and lawmakers signaled they will continue oversight and follow-up on localized service declines, the practical effects of pilots such as LTO, training and IMB adoption by election boards.