Why is Trump slowing the mail during a pandemic?

Judge orders multistate sweep for undelivered mailed ballots

The U.S. Postal Service failed to meet a judge’s order for a sweep of its mail processing facilities in a dozen districts across the United States to search for undelivered absentee ballots that can total around 300,000.

The required 4:30 p.m. ET response to U. S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan said the post office was “unable to accelerate" its ongoing daily review process to conduct the sweep Sullivan had ordered between 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. "without significantly disrupting preexisting activities on the day of the Election.”

The USPS response said the agency is reviewing 220 facilities across the country for potential incidents involving election mail, including searching staging and non-staging areas. Sullivan, based in Washington, D.C., ordered the sweep Tuesday after the agency said about 300,000 ballots had not been scanned as delivered.

Changes in the postal service implemented under new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a major GOP donor, led to mail delays nationwide and raised questions about the agency's ability to deliver amid the pandemic-driven spike in mail voting.

In a federal court filing, the postal service reported its performance processing score for handling ballots to be returned had fallen for the fifth day in a row. On Sunday, Sullivan had ordered the USPS to implement "extraordinary measures" to ensure the delivery of ballots by the state deadlines on Tuesday. Twenty-nine states require absentee ballots to be received by Election Day.