Will your Pierce County ballot get delivered in November? Here’s what the auditor says
With recent national controversy surrounding potential delays in mail delivery, should Pierce County voters be worried about their ballots come November?
Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson, who oversees elections locally, said no. Once a ballot has been stamped on or before Nov. 3, it is safe, Anderson told The News Tribune this week.
“We’ve been assured by the postal service that if it is picked up on time, it will be date stamped that day,” Anderson said. “Our system of outbound and inbound election mail is well-tested and relies only upon ordinary postal operations.”
What’s going on with USPS?
USPS has reportedly lost $69 billion in about a decade, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Louis DeJoy was chosen in May to lead USPS as Postmaster General and implemented cost-cutting changes, including eliminating overtime for postal workers, in July, according to the Washington Post.
The changes led to a public outcry when reports rolled in from across the country about mail collection boxes being removed and routes not being completed, causing delays in deliveries of essential items like prescriptions.
On Tuesday, DeJoy issued a statement saying he would suspend operational changes to “avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail.”
DeJoy said people can expect postal hours not to change, mail-processing equipment and blue collection boxes to remain where they are and overtime to be “approved as needed.”
“The Postal Service is ready today to handle whatever volume of election mail it receives this fall,” DeJoy said in the statement.
Officials: Trust the process
Anderson and the state’s chief elections officer, Secretary of State Kim Wyman, said voters should have faith in the system. They also described as dangerous what they see as a politicization of the process.
“Politicizing these administrative processes is dangerous and undermines public confidence in our elections,” Wyman said in a statement.
“One thing people can count on is vote by mail. We’ve been doing it for 10 years. It’s safe. It’s secure,” Anderson said.
Washington and Pennsylvania attorneys general said Tuesday they will file lawsuits about the U.S. Postal Service changes that affect vote-by-mail and other services. Thirteen other states have joined in.
Washington implemented statewide vote-by-mail in 2011.
Recommendations from the Auditor
Anderson shared a few ways voters can ensure their ballot gets counted in the Nov. 3 election:
Vote early. It’s easier on the system if more people vote before that Tuesday, and it reduces the risk of a ballot getting misplaced in your home.
Check your local blue mail drop box for pickup times to make sure that your ballot is stamped on or before Nov. 3
The Pierce County Auditor said if voters still are concerned about their ballots not being counted, they can choose a “ballot drop box” instead of going through the postal service.
There are 47 drop off boxes across the county. These Pierce County ballot boxes are emptied every 48 hours a final time around 8 p.m. on Nov 3 by an elections employee. Then, the ballots are driven directly to the voting center in Tacoma.
This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
