These USPS service problems threaten the security of votes cast by mail in the upcoming election.

The independent USPS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducts "audits, evaluations, research, and investigations" to fulfill its "mission of ensuring efficiency, accountability, and integrity in the U.S. Postal Service." In November 2023, the OIG commenced a self-initiated audit of "Election Mail Readiness for the 2024 General Election." The audit aimed "to evaluate the Postal Service's readiness for the timely processing and delivery of Election and Political Mail for the 2024 general election," and was conducted at "15 judgmentally selected mail processing facilities and 35 delivery units located in 13 states and Puerto Rico during primary elections in February and March 2024," according to the report.

The audit's findings identified three primary areas of concern, stating that "opportunities exist for the Postal Service to improve readiness for timely processing and delivery of Election and Political Mail for the 2024 general election," with only around three months to go until Election Day.

Lack of Compliance With Election Mail and Political Mail Policies  

The first finding detailed how postal service personnel were not complying with certain Election and Political Mail policies and procedures. According to the report, the USPS has developed an "Election Mail and Political Mail Guidebook," that "provides employees with many of the key resources that explain the longstanding, special-handling procedures required to facilitate the timely processing and delivery of Election Mail and Political Mail." The guidebook, according to the report, outlines how postal employees must certify that their facility is clear of Election and Political Mail every morning and how they must "correctly document the Election and Political Mail arrivals in the log."

However, according to the report, "over half of the delivery units and processing facilities … visited were not properly completing the all clear certifications or maintaining the Election and Political Mail Logs." The audit also found that "personnel at processing facilities did not complete the daily audit checklists as required by policy," with "some personnel … inaccurately marking items as completed."