Election offices across several states reported receiving mail ballots intended for voters in entirely different states during the 2024 presidential election, raising concerns about the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) ability to handle election mail efficiently.
Key Incidents
- Cascade County, Montana: Election administrator Terry Thompson received ballots from voters in Alaska, Washington, and Florida. She also received ballots meant for other counties in Montana.
- Louisiana: About 40-50 ballots for other states were delivered to local offices, mostly in Orleans Parish. Staff had to drive misdirected ballots to their correct destinations to ensure they were counted.
- New Mexico: In Santa Fe County, seven ballots bound for the office were instead delivered to Los Angeles County, California. These ballots failed to meet New Mexico’s 7 p.m. Election Day deadline for counting.
- California: The Secretary of State’s office reported about 150 ballots from Oregon voters being misdirected to California before being forwarded to the correct destinations.
Election officials had previously raised concerns about the USPS’s handling of mail-in ballots. A September 2024 letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, cited issues such as ballots postmarked on time but delivered late and properly addressed mail being returned as undeliverable.
The USPS said election mail is prioritized through daily checks and encouraged election offices to use bar codes for tracking. While USPS and postal workers addressed some issues during the election, widespread cases of misdirected ballots remained troubling.
Rod Spurgeon, USPS spokesperson, emphasized the agency’s commitment to supporting elections:
“The United States Postal Service is fully committed to fulfilling our role in the electoral process.”
The delays and misdeliveries disenfranchised some voters whose ballots did not reach their destinations in time. For instance, Santa Fe County Clerk Katharine Clark confirmed that ballots redirected from Los Angeles arrived too late to be counted.
Amy Cohen, executive director of the National Association of State Election Directors, called the incidents “disappointing and heartbreaking,” urging USPS to address these issues to prevent future problems.
While some officials, like Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, expressed frustration with USPS, others advocate for alternatives like drop boxes to mitigate reliance on the mail system. This election highlights the need for improved processes and coordination to ensure all votes are counted accurately and on time.