In this episode, we dive into the Postal Service’s vital role in the election process. With Election Day 2024 fast approaching, our hosts Karla Kirby and Jonathan Castillo speak with Adrienne Marshall, the Executive Director for Election and Government Mail Services. Adrienne sheds light on the extensive preparations already underway at the Postal Service to manage and secure the millions of ballots expected to be mailed this election season. Tune in to learn how the USPS ensures the integrity and efficiency of the election mail process.
This week on Mailin' It, Karla and Jonathan are joined by Adrienne Marshall, the Executive Director for Election and Government Mail Services at USPS. As the nation gears up for the 2024 elections, Adrienne provides an in-depth look at how the Postal Service is preparing to process, transport, and deliver Election Mail, including ballots, voter registration cards, and polling place notifications. The episode explores the history of voting by mail, the difference between election mail and political mail, the specialized measures in place to ensure that every mail-in ballot is handled securely and efficiently, and more! Whether you’re a voter or just curious about how the process works, this episode is packed with valuable insights into the USPS’s role in the election process.
Karla Kirby:
Hi everybody. Welcome to Mailin’ It, the official podcast of the United States Postal Service. I'm Karla Kirby.
Jonathan Castillo:
And I'm Jonathan Castillo. A lot of people are gearing up for Election Day 2024 on Tuesday, November 5th, but here at the Postal Service, things are already in high gear for the elections. We've already processed millions of ballots during the primary elections, and now we're getting ready to process the millions of additional ballots that we expect to be mailed in the coming months for the 2024 general election.
Karla Kirby:
The Postal Service has a very important and clearly defined role in the election process. We'll be discussing that role in this episode with Adrienne Marshall, our Executive Director for Election and Government Mail Services. Adrienne, welcome back to Mailin’ It.
Adrienne Marshall:
Thank you, Karla. It's good to be here.
Jonathan Castillo:
Adrienne, we're pretty fortunate to have you here with us today, considering just how busy you are this time of year. I know the last time we had you on Mailin’ It, the Postal Service had just launched its election and government mail services team, which you now head. Why don't we start by talking about what the team does and what your role there entails?
Adrienne Marshall:
Sure, absolutely, Jonathan. In 2022, the PMG established the election and government mail services team, which is now a permanent structure. Over the past two years, we've developed formal strategies, policies, procedures, and centralized activities to support election mail. We have also created new resources for employees on how to identify election mail, especially mail-in ballots to ensure safe and timely passage through the Postal network. We also partner with union leaders and management associations to add additional resources as an extra set of eyes and boots on the ground to support efforts around election mail. They are called ballot ambassadors and ballot monitors, and we'll deploy them on October 1st.
Karla Kirby:
So Adrienne, just to clear up any confusion about the difference between election mail and political mail, what does the term election mail cover?
Adrienne Marshall:
Great question. Karla. Election mail is any item mail to - or from - authorized election officials that allows citizens to participate in the voting process if they choose to. Right? You know, things like ballots and voter registration cards, ballot application, and polling place notifications.
Jonathan Castillo:
So you're saying election mail does not include the things that, you know, people get in their mail from political candidates or campaigns, is that right?
Adrienne Marshall:
That's correct. No, political mail is a separate category of mail. Political mailings include mailings from a campaign, from a registered political candidate, campaign committee or committee of a political party. It's also any material mailed by political action committees such as PAC’s or Super PAC’s or organizations engaging in issues advocacy or voter mobilization. Political mail may be sent for any public election partisan or norm non-partisan for which there's a ballot.
Karla Kirby:
Well, Adrienne, thanks for clearing that up. I think it's also important for us to clarify something else before we get too far. What is the Postal Services official role in the election process?
Adrienne Marshall:
Okay, great question, Karla. Our official role is delivering the mail of course related to elections. And this service, as you know, is required by law for us to provide, but we are responsible for processing, transporting, and delivering the nation's election mail. When public policy makers choose to utilize the mail as part of their election process, or when voters choose to utilize our services to participate in an election, we don't encourage or discourage people to vote by mail. In other words, we don't advocate for vote by mail. If election officials choose to use mail as part of their election process or voters choose to use mail to cast their ballot, our message is very clear. It's safe, secure, and efficient. We have no role or influence with determining election laws, including to the extent which the mail is used for participating in elections. We also have no role in establishing election deadlines or determining dates to request if it's required by the state or return a ballot.
Jonathan Castillo:
Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but this is now something that the Postal Service has been doing for a long time, right?
Adrienne Marshall:
Yes, a very long time. Voting by mail has been around since the Civil War. Absentee ballots were offered both to union and Confederate soldiers so they could vote from their battlefield units and have them counted back at home. It was created to help ensure all eligible US voters can participate in elections.
Karla Kirby:
So it's interesting that voting by mail goes back so many years. Can you tell us a little bit more about what your team does?
Adrienne Marshall:
Sure. So including myself, we have a team of nine - very small team - at headquarters. We have four election and government mail specialists that oversee election mail across the country. Also, here at headquarters we have three policy and strategy specialists and one policy and strategy manager. So to support our team and focus around election mail, we have four area customer relation directors who oversee the 50 managers of customer relations and their teams. The managers of customer relations are the primary points of contact for election officials. They conduct outreach to local, state election officials.
Karla Kirby:
So what sort of outreach, when you say reaching out to the officials, what exactly does that entail?
Adrienne Marshall:
So we do quite a bit. This year in 2024 we've made regular appearances at state conferences. We distributed, published online and mailed the 2024 official election mail kit known as Kit 600 to more than 8,700 boards of elections. We want to help election officials understand how the mail works so that they better understand how to plan for their elections. We also are for are for mail piece design. Analysts to assist states with their envelope designs. We also worked with mail service providers and share our recommendations and best practices for using the mail. For example, correctly tagging the mail using the visibility tools like the official election mail logo, dedicated service type identifiers and serialized intelligent mail bar codes for ballots. So when an election mail is properly prepared, it receives the visibility as it moves through our system and allows election officials and voters to track their mail piece.
Jonathan Castillo:
Clearly that is a lot of preparation, a lot of effort going on our part. Can you tell us, you know, what kind of increase in mail or in mail volume does a presidential election like the one that's only a few months away typically create for the Postal Service?
Adrienne Marshall:
Good question, Jonathan. In 2022, we processed 105.4 million ballots throughout the election season. Although it wasn't a presidential election during 2022, we delivered 99.93% of ballots delivered from voters to election officials within seven days, and 99 point 33% of ballots from voters to election officials within three days, under two days an average to deliver ballots from election officials to voters and voters to election officials. But during this year's 2024 primary election, we processed, we've already processed 62 million ballots so far. Yet, you know, keep in mind that election mail is still a very small percentage. It's actually less than 1% of the total mail volume. And as you know, we handle more than 430 million pieces of mail daily. We have the capacity and expertise to accommodate the additional influx of mail-in ballots. When we need to allocate more resources for processing and delivering the mail, we do it.
Karla Kirby:
So what would you say to anyone who has concerns that they either won't receive a mail-in ballot on time, or that their mail ballot will not be delivered in time to be counted for the election?
Adrienne Marshall:
In the two weeks before and in some cases after the general election, we undertake extraordinary measures beyond our normal course of operations to ensure the election mail is safely and securely processed on time whenever possible, including but not limited to, we establish extra deliveries and collections, special pickups, expanded processing facility hours, specialized sort plans at processing facilities to expedite delivery, local turnarounds to bypass regional processing if necessary. And then we also work closely with the US Postal Inspection Service and the US Postal Service Office of Inspector General. We have a team of inspectors that are on heightened alert. If anyone suspects fraud, they can contact the Postal inspection service. We also remind our employees of the importance of election mail-in ballots and train them on proper handling.
Jonathan Castillo:
And of course, we also have over 33,000 post office locations nationwide where voters can mail their ballots from as well if they prefer. Now tell me, how does election mail work for US military and American citizens who aren't necessarily living in the US?
Adrienne Marshall:
Well, Jonathan, we partner with the State Department, the Federal Voting Assistance Program, and the Military Postal Service Agency to provide mail-in ballots for members of the military diplomatic personnel, their eligible family members, other American citizens residing outside of the United States. The Uniform and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, which is UOCAVA, provides rules and guidance for these voters. There's a lot more information about that on Federal Voting Assistance Programs website, that's fvap.gov. Of course, all voters need to be mindful of their respective deadlines for mail-in ballots, mission ballots for UOCAVA voters have to be mailed to those voters at least 45 days before the election for federal office, unless the request is received less than 45 days before an election for a federal office. In the US, voters can visit the vote.org or usa.gov sites to find their state's deadlines. The National Association of Secretaries of State also have an initiative called #TrustedInfo2024 to educate and inform voters of their respective state guidelines and rules. All of these sites that I mentioned are run by nonpartisan organizations.
Karla Kirby:
So Adrienne, thanks so much for taking us through all of this really important information about election mail. Before we let you go, do you have any parting thoughts for our listeners?
Adrienne Marshall:
Absolutely. I want voters to know that they should always check to make sure they understand their state's requirements and recommendations for requesting a ballot and mailing your completed ballot. You can also look for information about your state's requirements and recommendations by going to www.usa.gov/state-election-office in jurisdictions where you have to request a mail-in ballot in order to receive one. We recommend requesting your ballot as early as your jurisdiction allows. As a common sense measure, make sure you mail your completed ballot before election day and at least one week before the deadline set by your election official. Some states may recommend allowing even more time for mail-in completed ballots. I'd also like to reiterate that we are a service provider and if a voter is eligible to use mail-in voting and chooses to use the mail to vote, we want them to know it's safe, it's secure and is sufficient.
If you're eligible to vote by mail and choose to do so, plan ahead to give yourself enough time to request your ballot and to complete and return your ballot by your state's deadlines. I know that I've mentioned the 62 million ballots that we've processed so far. I'd also like to just comfort the voting community that it's still such a small amount. We process 430 million pieces of mail a day. We have the capacity, we have the infrastructure and the volume just represents less than 1% of what we handle. So thank you so much and if you choose to use the mail, it's safe, it's secure, and it's efficient.
Karla Kirby:
Great point. Adrienne. We do deliver how many days a week?
Jonathan Castillo:
We deliver to 167 million addresses every day or you know, six to seven, six days a week. You know, six per law and sometimes seven days a week per law.
Karla Kirby:
Thanks again, Adrienne, for coming in. Again, it's always refreshing to get the most up-to-date information and thank you for sharing.
Jonathan Castillo:
Thank you very much. Great to have you.
Adrienne Marshall:
Thank you.
Karla Kirby:
So let's wrap things up with our favorite segment: Did You Know… Where we get to talk about all things Postal Service. Jonathan, wanna kick us off with this week's topic?
Jonathan Castillo:
You already know that over its’ history, USPS has experimented with many, shall we say, unusual delivery methods.
Karla Kirby:
Are we talking about carrier pigeons again?
Jonathan Castillo:
You remember that? Actually, no. My topic today is about human carriers instead of animals. And specifically I'm talking special delivery. Did you know that more than a hundred years ago, the Postal Service or as it was known at the time, just the Post Office introduced the first special delivery service where letters would be delivered immediately to the addressee rather than waiting for the next regular delivery? Yes, and believe it or not, these special deliveries were made by boys as young as 13 on bicycles who were employed as messengers and were typically paid for their deliveries. And get this, they would get a whopping 80% or eight out of every 10 cents charged for this service.
Karla Kirby:
It almost sounds like these special deliveries were a predecessor to app-based delivery services that we see today, which people use to order takeout and groceries.
Jonathan Castillo:
Doesn't it? Just another example of how the Postal Service has been at the forefront of delivery innovation since the beginning of our nation. And while it was successful for many years, USPS ended its special delivery service in 1997 to make way for the new programs and technologies.
Karla Kirby:
Interesting.
Jonathan Castillo:
Really?
Karla Kirby:
Okay. Not the high seas, but America's waterfront communities. Did you know that in certain areas of the US the Postal Service provides delivery to dockside mailboxes to customers living on the water?
Jonathan Castillo:
That's actually pretty cool. Where can we see dock delivery in action?
Karla Kirby:
Dock to dock delivery takes places in communities like the coastal islands of Maine, New York's Finger Lakes, Mackinac Island in Lake Michigan, the Snake River Canyon in Idaho, and Ketchikan Alaska to make this service possible. USPS partners with more than 50 contractors who transport the mail using a variety of watercraft, including motorboats ferries and container ships.
Jonathan Castillo:
That's pretty amazing. And you know what? It's so much more reliable than sending a message in a bottle.
Karla Kirby:
True. But while many of these water routes are only seasonal in the warmer months, dock to dock delivery in Magnolia Springs, Alabama is truly one of a kind. That's the last place in the nation where USPS is still making year round deliveries to the dock. And that wraps up this edition of Did You Know.
Jonathan Castillo:
Karla, I feel like I learned so much listening to Adrienne take us through the ins and the outs of election mail, you know, from ballots and ballot applications to voter registration cards and polling placed notifications. She talked about the success the Postal Service had in the 2020 and 2022 elections delivering 99.89% of ballots from voters to election officials within seven days. And, you know, with the upcoming 2024 general election only a couple of months away, it's so vital to help others understand not only the critical role the Postal Service plays in the democratic process, but also the, you know, all the robust and extraordinary measures we put in, in place to ensure the secure and timely delivery of election mail. So I'm thrilled that we had her on with us. Really great stuff.
Karla Kirby:
Well definitely she shed some light for our listeners on the fact that the Postal Services again secure and we have the infrastructure to handle the volume, especially in comparison to what we do on a daily basis. If you're talking about, you know, a hundred million ballots versus 430 million pieces we process on a daily basis, clearly we're absolutely in a position to get it done.
Jonathan Castillo:
And that wraps up this episode of Mailin’ It. Don't forget to subscribe to mailing it wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you don't miss out on the next great episode. And be sure to follow us on Instagram @US Postal Service, X - formerly known as Twitter @usps and on Facebook.