Browse
Log in / Register
Share
The U.S. Postal Service’s Postmaster General today announced a sweeping reorganization of mail processing operations, a move that critics warn could delay absentee ballots just months before the 2026 midterm elections. The changes, detailed in a memo released November 10, 2025, consolidate dozens of processing centers and reduce transportation hours, aiming to cut costs but raising new questions about mail reliability.
The new plan reduces the number of regional processing hubs from 40 to 28, shifting some sorting work to smaller facilities that lack automated equipment. According to internal projections obtained by The Washington Post, these changes could add an extra one to three days for some cross-country deliveries. The USPS says the move is necessary to offset a projected $5 billion loss this fiscal year.
“We must modernize to survive, but we cannot sacrifice service,” said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in a press call. DeJoy, a Trump appointee who has served since 2020, pointed to declining first-class mail volume as the primary driver. “Every dollar saved helps us avoid a taxpayer bailout.”
The announcement drew immediate pushback from voting rights groups. The League of Women Voters filed a formal objection with the Postal Regulatory Commission, arguing that the changes violate the 2021 Postal Service Reform Act, which requires the USPS to maintain “efficient and reliable” service for election mail. The timing is especially sensitive: 35 states allow absentee ballots to be postmarked as late as Election Day. If processing slows, ballots that arrive after certification deadlines could be discarded.
Small businesses that rely on the mail for invoices and shipments also voiced concern. The National Federation of Independent Business estimates that 60% of its members use USPS for at least some billing. “When a check takes a week instead of three days, cash flow suffers,” said NFIB executive director Karen Harned.
The USPS plan includes a two-year phase-in, with facility closures beginning in early 2026. The agency will hold public hearings for each affected region. However, the Postal Service has not yet released a cost–benefit analysis for individual communities. A Government Accountability Office report from March 2025 warned that previous consolidations led to a 15% increase in delivery delays.
This is not the first overhaul DeJoy has championed. In 2021, his “Delivering for America” plan slowed service standards for some classes of mail. A federal judge later found that the changes had “no rational basis” and ordered them reversed. The current plan has been redesigned to address some of those legal concerns, but voting rights advocates remain skeptical.
The White House
