Is Mail Delivery Taking Longer?
Is U.S. mail delivery becoming slower for First Class mail? A New York Times analysis of more than 28 million pieces of mail found that on-time delivery declined noticeably in July and August. This comes after PMG Louis DeJoy put cost-cutting measures in place. Delivery has sped up slightly since the summer but remains slower than earlier this year. Twenty-eight million pieces of first-class letters were tracked by SnailWorks. The results of the analysis shows how on-time delivery declined noticeably in July after the arrival of the new and politically aligned PMG Louis DeJoy and the start of his mandated policies to trim transportation costs.
It appears mail delivery did slow down in July and August.
As you already know, timely mail delivery has become a key part of the 2020 election outcome due to an unprecedented number of Americans who are likely to vote by mail to avoid visiting a polling place during the pandemic.
At my house mail delivery has always taken longer on sunny days or rainy days with clearing in the evening :<) OTOH, mail is delivered early on days that are dry early with rain forecast for the late afternoon or evening. Mail is also delivered early when it is very, very cold. Of course this is not what is meant, but it is what it is in my zip code.
Mail still gets to my post office lightning fast compared to when I was a kid or a young man. The growth in direct marketing and mail order has been a postal windfall in my lifetime.
from at least one Ohio post office, yes. the rural carriers take out what comes in on the first truck, even if there’s no first class..what comes in on the second truck isn’t included in that day’s delivery…that means 1st class which used to go out on the day it arrived at the post office is often delayed till the next day..
& that doesn’t even address the delays downtown in getting the mail sorted & onto the trucks…
With regards to mail-in ballots then postal delays due to cut backs are just squirrels released to distract from the obvious notion that Xmas mailings over a comparable time-span (VA county registrars start mailing out absentee ballot packets 45 days before the applicable election) arrive before Old Saint Nick. Donnie is the other Old Nick. We need to keep our eyes on the ball and leave the squirrels alone. If the 7% solution were to dilute Xmas then there would be kickback. Xmas is a holiday for school children and a windfall for retailers. Donnie may be Teflon, but he is not bullet proof.
My county registrar’s 45 day clock for 11/3/20 GE starts this weekend, so I applied to vote absentee this morning. VA does not require any reason this year, since Covid-19 is obvious. Good luck. Vote early and vote often :<)
Hopefully, enough people will vote early or deposit mail ballots in drop boxes that the strain on the post office won’t be unmanageable.