Mail delivery issues in Boston with November election quickly approaching

Roxbury resident Mark Schafer and some on Boston City Council are looking for assurances from the United States Postal Service.

By Matt Prichard • •

NBC Universal, Inc.

Mail delays are causing frustration for some Boston locals. Neighborhoods like Roxbury and Mission Hill have apparently been dealing with late-arriving postal service for months, causing bills, checks and important safety information to be missed.

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Boston locals in Roxbury and Mission Hill have had enough. Mail delivery has apparently slowed to a crawl in recent months, putting the receipt of critical documents and services in doubt.

“It’s stunning to get a flyer from the health department of the City of Boston, that has crucial resources to deal with summer heat, to get that on August 25th and find out it was mailed two months earlier,” said Roxbury resident, Mark Schafer.

Dozens of other Boston locals have faced similar issues describing delayed social security checks and fearing issues with ballots this November.

Mark Schafer and some on Boston City Council are looking for assurances from the United States Postal Service.

“Not words but explaining how they will ensure all mail-in ballots are delivered on time,” said Schafer.

“We have heard anecdotally from residents that even in this last primary election they didn’t receive their mail-in ballot,” said District 8 Councilor, Sharon Durkan.

It's a recipe for disaster. In much of the country, the US Postal Service is falling far short of its own on-time delivery standards - and NBC's Noah Pransky found the slowest mail in the country happens to be in a few key swing states. Now, both Democratic and Republican election officials tell him they're concerned legit votes will get tossed this fall because of USPS failures.

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But USPS expressed confidence in its systems, writing in a statement, ‘we employ a robust and proven process to ensure proper handling and delivery of all election mail, including ballots. We are working in close communication with election officials, including in Massachusetts.’

The Massachusetts Secretary of State’s Office also responding, stating, ‘we are aware of resident concerns about delayed mail in general, in parts of Boston and in other communities. Our office works closely with our postal contact to work through any issues that may arise, and Secretary Galvin has personally spoken with our contact at USPS to address these concerns ahead of the election.’

While that debate plays out, Mark Schafer is pushing for a return to timely service.

“They’ve been dramatically understaffed for years, and it seems to be getting worse,” said Schafer.

In response, the US Postal Service wrote, "the postal service is aware of a minor employee availability issue last week that we have resolved. Mail service is current and within service performance standards."

U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy says the USPS is ready to deliver mail-in ballots this election season and the effort is "all hands on deck" for the Postal Service.
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