Federal judge orders sweep of postal facilities in swing states – including Texas – for mail-in ballots

WASHINGTON, DC – A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Postal Service to have postal inspectors sweep processing facilities in multiple battleground states, including Texas, for election mail.

The order mandated the sweeping process so that no mail-in ballots currently in processing centers go undelivered.

The move comes after USPS delivery performance dropped five straight days leading up to the election, according to information from court filings.

Scores have been steadily declining since Wednesday when the Post Service reported it moved 97% of ballots on time.

Five of the states with low processing scores do not allow ballots after Election Day. They are Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, New Hampshire and Maine.

The USPS said the delays are largely because to staffing shortages due to the pandemic.

To fix the issues, the Postal Service has provided “multiple layers of operational oversight,” is coordinating closely with the USPS inspector general and has been holding daily troubleshooting calls.

Some post offices have implemented “local turnaround.”

That’s where ballots are being delivered directly to local boards of election instead of going through normal mail processing.