Director, Election & Government Mail Services
Delivering America’s Election Mail
The United States Postal Service has a proud history of successfully handling Election Mail. Thanks to long-standing and effective processes and practices that involve every facet of our operation and every one of our 640,000 postal employees, the Postal Service is always ready and well-prepared to process, transport and deliver the nation’s Election Mail safely, securely, and on time. The upcoming 2024 general election will be no different.
Since 2022, I have led the Postal Service’s Election and Government Mail Services team, which was formed to permanently oversee our Election Mail efforts. We have formalized and centralized the proven strategies, policies and procedures that have maintained the Postal Service’s robust and effective service performance during previous election seasons.
My team and I strive to continually improve upon our successful handling of Election Mail, and we’ve created new resources for all employees — not just those processing and delivering mail — on how to identify Election Mail, especially mail-in ballots, and ensure its safe and timely passage through the postal network. We’ve also worked with union leaders to bring more employees into our already robust system of Election Mail oversight.
Outreach is also our priority, and we’ve embraced opportunities to educate local, state, and federal election officials and their mail service providers on how to use the mail effectively. For 2024, this has included in-person contact with more than 12,000 election officials and regular appearances at state conferences — all to help election officials understand our recommendations regarding mail piece design, visibility tools (like barcodes), and best practices for using the mail.
As we near Election Day, we will again deploy extraordinary measures in the final two weeks of the 2024 general election cycle. These measures include extra deliveries and collections, special pickups, expanded processing facility hours, sort plans at processing facilities to expedite delivery and local turnaround to bypass regional processing if necessary. These efforts are designed to be used in the final days before the election, when the risk of deviating from our standard processes is necessary to rescue ballots that are entered in our system likely, or definitely, too late to make election deadlines set by election officials.
We handle more than 430 million pieces of mail daily, so we have more than enough capacity and expertise to accommodate the additional influx of mail-in ballots. And as always, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is there to protect the security and integrity of the nation’s Election Mail. This includes rigorous security protocols, continuous monitoring and prompt response to any potential threats or incidents. The Inspection Service also provides support for election officials who suspect fraud or are the victim of threats involving the mail.
I am proud to be part of this organization, and I’m honored to work alongside the 640,000 postal employees who are central to achieving our consistently high level of performance every election cycle. And if you’d like to know more, please join me on my recent visit to the USPS Mailin’ It! podcast, where I talk at length about the Postal Service’s indispensable role in the safe, secure and timely processing, transportation, and delivery of the nation’s Election Mail.
I’d like to leave everyone with one final thought. As in past elections, the United States Postal Service is ready to deliver your ballot on time. But don’t delay. If you choose to vote by mail, please mail early.
Adrienne Marshall
Director, Election & Government Mail Services