Postal Cuts Tied to Surge in Late Mail Ballots in Rural Washington
After the U.S. Postal Service cut costs and slowed some mail service, rural eastern Washington counties saw a sharp rise in ballots that arrived too late to count. In 11 mostly rural counties, about 2,000 ballots came in late in the recent primary, compared with roughly 600 in the 2022 primary. Postal officials say special election procedures should avoid a repeat for the Nov. 3 election, though experts caution that problems remain likely.
ProPublica examined mail-ballot data in five states with detailed records and post-Election Day grace periods: Washington, California, Ohio, North Carolina and Oregon. In counties touched by the postal changes, late rejections rose sharply compared with the 2022 primary, while other areas did not see the same pattern.
The Postal Service has consolidated first-class processing at larger regional hubs and, at many offices more than 50 miles from those hubs, reduced pickups from twice daily to once. Because postmarks are applied at regional centers, ballots can be delayed before they are marked.
Rural voters, especially those who rely on mail, could face greater uncertainty that their ballots will be counted, which may reduce confidence in close races. Election officials may need to spend more on outreach and tracking, while postal and election agencies could face pressure to coordinate deadlines and pickup schedules. The effects may fall hardest on communities far from processing centers, where delays add time and distance to an already time-sensitive process.