TABLE OF CONTENTS TRANSMITTAL LETTER RESULTS Office of Inspector General United States Postal Service Management Alert Timeliness of Ballot Mail in the Milwaukee Processing & Distribution Center Service Area Report Number 20-235-R20 July 7, 2020 APPENDICES TABLE OF CONTENTS TRANSMITTAL LETTER RESULTS APPENDICES BACK to COVER Table of Contents Cover Potential National Issues.........................................................................6 Transmittal Letter..................................................................................................1 Results.......................................................................................................................3 States’ Deadlines for Voters to Request Absentee Ballots are Insufficient to Ensure Delivery Before an Election...............6 Introduction.........................................................................................................3 Requirements for Postmarks on Ballots...........................................7 Conclusion...........................................................................................................3 Ballots Not Always Mailed with Mail Tracking Technology ....7 Ballots Found at the Milwaukee P&DC After Election ............. 4 Political and Election Mail Coordinators Outreach and Communication..................................................................................7 Absentee Ballots Requested on March 22 and 23, 2020........ 4 Recommendation #4................................................................................8 Absentee Ballots Intended for Delivery to Voters but Returned to the Fox Point Village Election Office...................... 4 Management's Comments............................................................................8 Postmarks on Absentee Ballots Returned by Voters.................5 Evaluation of Management’s Comments...............................................9 Recommendation #1.................................................................................5 Appendices...........................................................................................................10 Recommendation #2................................................................................6 Appendix A: Management’s Comments...............................................11 Recommendation #3................................................................................6 Contact Information..........................................................................................15 Management Alert — Timeliness of Ballot Mail in the Milwaukee P&DC Service Area Report Number 20-235-R20 TABLE OF CONTENTS TRANSMITTAL LETTER RESULTS APPENDICES BACK to COVER Transmittal Letter July 7, 2020 MEMORANDUM FOR: SALVATORE VACCA ACTING VICE PRESIDENT, GREAT LAKES AREA DAVID E. WILLIAMS CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER & EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT E-Signed by Inspector General VERIFY authenticity with eSign Desktop FROM: Darrell E. Benjamin, Jr. Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Mission Operations SUBJECT: Management Alert – Timeliness of Ballot Mail in the Milwaukee Processing & Distribution Center Service Area (Report Number 20-235-R20) This management alert presents issues identified in our review of the Timeliness of Ballot Mail in the Milwaukee Processing & Distribution Center (P&DC) Service Area. This alert responds to a request from U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson and U.S. Representatives Gwen Moore and Bryan Steil to investigate reports of absentee ballots not delivered in a timely manner for the Wisconsin primary election held Tuesday, April 7, 2020. Our objective was to determine the cause of delayed ballot mail in the Milwaukee, WI P&DC service area for the spring election and presidential preference primary of April 7, 2020. We conducted this performance audit from April through July 2020 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards and included such tests of internal controls as we considered necessary under the circumstances. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objective. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and Management Alert — Timeliness of Ballot Mail in the Milwaukee P&DC Service Area Report Number 20-235-R20 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS TRANSMITTAL LETTER RESULTS APPENDICES BACK to COVER conclusions based on our audit objective. We discussed our findings and conclusions with management on June 10, 2020, and included their comments where appropriate. We appreciate the cooperation and courtesies provided by your staff. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Todd Watson, Director, Network Processing, or me at 703-248-2100. Attachment cc: Postmaster General Vice President, Delivery and Retail Operations Corporate Audit Response Management Management Alert — Timeliness of Ballot Mail in the Milwaukee P&DC Service Area Report Number 20-235-R20 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS TRANSMITTAL LETTER RESULTS APPENDICES BACK to COVER Results Introduction Due to the COVID-19 pandemic,1 there is an expected increase in the number of Americans who will choose to vote by mail and avoid in-person voting. This was evident during the Wisconsin spring election and presidential preference primary, as the Wisconsin Election Commission received over 1.3 million requests for absentee ballots for the April 7, 2020, election, almost 1 million of which were completed and returned by mail to the election offices. This was an increase of over 440 percent from the April 2016 election. The pandemic also Due to the COVID-19 played a role in last minute changes to the election rules. The spring election was pandemic, there is mandated to be held on the first Tuesday an expected increase in April (April 7, 2020). On April 2, 2020, a federal judge extended the deadline for in the number of requesting absentee ballots to 5:00 p.m. Americans who on April 3, 2020, and moved the date for returning absentee ballots to 4:00 p.m. will choose to vote on April 13, 2020. On April 6, 2020, the by mail and avoid governor of Wisconsin issued an executive order suspending in-person voting in‑person voting. until June 9, 2020, to respond to public health concerns regarding COVID-19. On April 6, 2020, the Wisconsin Supreme Court overruled the governor’s executive order to postpone the date of the election. Subsequently, on the same day, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered that absentee ballots need to be submitted in‑person or postmarked by April 7, 2020 and received by the election commission by April 13, 2020, to be counted. “ ” On April 9 and April 16, 2020, we received requests from U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson and U.S. Representatives Gwen Moore and Bryan Steil to investigate reports of absentee ballots not delivered in a timely manner for the Wisconsin primary election held Tuesday, April 7, 2020. The requests mentioned the following issues: ■ Three tubs of absentee ballots from Appleton and Oshkosh were found at the Milwaukee Processing & Distribution Center (P&DC) after polls closed on April 7, 2020. ■ Absentee ballots requested on March 22 and 23, 2020, were not delivered to voters. ■ The Postal Service returned absentee ballots to the Fox Point Village three weeks prior to the election without explaining why they were returned and not delivered. The Fox Point Village manager drove to the post office but could not get an answer as to why they were returned. ■ Three hundred ninety ballots that were mailed by voters did not receive postmarks. The election office was unable to determine whether they were received by the Postal Service in time to be included in the official count. This management alert responds to the congressional requests and presents our results and recommendations to address the issues identified in this report. Conclusion The Postal Service generally followed its procedures for processing and delivering ballots for the Wisconsin spring election and presidential preference primary of April 7, 2020. However, we identified opportunities to improve communication and coordination between the Postal Service and election offices and strengthen adherence to procedures. We also identified potential nationwide issues integrating election office’s vote by mail processes with the Postal Service processes which could impact future elections. Specifically, for ballots processed in the Milwaukee area, we found issues related to the timeliness of ballots being mailed to voters, correcting misdelivery2 of ballots, an inability to track ballots, and inconsistent postmarking of ballots. Nationally, we noted potential concerns with the deadlines set by the states to request absentee ballots, ballots postmarks, 1 The President of the United States issued the national emergency declaration concerning the novel Coronavirus disease outbreak (COVID-19) on March 13, 2020. 2 Delivery to the wrong address. Management Alert — Timeliness of Ballot Mail in the Milwaukee P&DC Service Area Report Number 20-235-R20 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS TRANSMITTAL LETTER RESULTS APPENDICES BACK to COVER ballots mailed without mail tracking technology, and the ratio of Political and Election Mail coordinators to election offices in certain locations. Ballots Found at the Milwaukee P&DC After Election Three tubs containing 749 undelivered voter ballots were discovered at the Milwaukee P&DC after the polls closed on election day, April 7, 2020. This occurred because the ballots were not presented to the Postal Service until the end of the day on April 7, 2020 (the date of the election), which did not allow enough time for the Postal Service to process and deliver the ballots. The state of Wisconsin Ballots were not permitted residents to request an absentee ballot until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 3, 2020. presented to the The city of Appleton provided voter ballots to a Postal Service until third-party mailer on Monday, April 6, 2020. The the end of the day third-party mailer presented the three tubs of ballots to the Postal Service around 6:00 p.m. on April 7, 2020. on Tuesday, April 7, 2020. As a result, they were not delivered until after election day.3 “ ” Absentee Ballots Requested on March 22 and 23, 2020 The Milwaukee Election Office received complaints from voters about not receiving ballots that were requested on March 22 and 23, 2020. Milwaukee Election officials stated that the return rate for ballots requested on those dates was about 25 percent, which was much lower than the normal return rates of 65-70 percent. The election office uses a third-party mailer to induct ballots into the Postal Service network; however, the ballots did not have Intelligent Mail Barcodes4 (IMb). IMbs allow mailers and the Postal Service to track each mailpiece from acceptance to delivery and would have enabled both the Postal Service and election offices to track ballots as they moved through the Postal Service and to identify delays in near real time. The third-party mailer confirmed the ballots were co-mingled with other pieces of mail, meaning they were unable to provide the exact number of ballots presented to the Postal Service. Subsequent to the congressional request, the Milwaukee Election Office staff determined there was a computer glitch on March 22, 2020, and they believe almost 2,700 requested ballots were never sent to voters.5 This could explain the low return rates on ballots requested on March 22 and 23, 2020. Absentee Ballots Intended for Delivery to Voters but Returned to the Fox Point Village Election Office We found multiple factors contributing to the delay and misdelivery issues experienced by the Fox Point Village Election Office. First, about 160 ballots going to voters were erroneously returned to the Fox Point Village Election Office by a Postal Service city carrier. The carrier, who also had the election office on her route, admitted to not reviewing each ballot to confirm the destination address before returning them to the Fox Point Village. The Fox Point Village manager brought the ballots back to the station multiple times to ask why they were returned, but the issue kept occurring. The station manager eventually became aware of the issue but believed it had been resolved when local processing changes occurred and did not follow-up with the Fox Point Village to ensure resolution of the issue. Further, the station was not aware that the returned ballots were due to one carrier’s lack of attention until we identified it. Additionally, the station did not record the ballots on a Political Mail Log, which may have identified the same ballots being returned to the village multiple times. According to Postal Service policy, post offices are required to record all Political Mailings and Official Election Mailings on the Political Mail Log.6 The second issue involved the addressing and design of the ballots. The first line of the address for ballots mailed to voters included “Village of Fox Point” right above the recipient’s address, which could cause confusion as to the location the ballots should be delivered. Additionally, the address labels included a block 3 The Postal Service’s First-Class mail delivery standard is two to five days. 4 IMbs are used to sort and track letters, cards, and flats on automated equipment. The barcode encodes tracking information that identifies the mailer, type of service, and serial number and the routing code and routing information that contains the delivery point ZIP Code. 5 Wisconsin Election Commission April 7, 2020 Absentee Voting Report, page 20, dated May 15, 2020. 6 Political Mail And Official Election Mail Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) For Acceptance Units, Detached Mail Units and Post Offices, pages 3 and 4. Management Alert — Timeliness of Ballot Mail in the Milwaukee P&DC Service Area Report Number 20-235-R20 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS TRANSMITTAL LETTER RESULTS APPENDICES BACK to COVER directly to the right with a barcode and several rows of numbers. P&DC personnel stated that these non-postal related numbers confused sorting machines and resulted in a few ballots (we were unable to determine the number) being missent to other locations (see Figure 1). The State Election Commission worked with the Postal Service on the overall ballot design; however, local election offices design address labels without input from the State Election Commission or the Postal Service. Postal Service guidelines state that District Marketing Managers are responsible for scheduling and publicizing mail preparation seminars to all candidates, political mailers, and election officials.7 Figure 1. Example of Ballot Sent to Voter Postmarks on Absentee Ballots Returned by Voters The Milwaukee Election Office reported their receipt of about 390 voter completed ballots with varying postmark issues including illegible postmarks, lack of a postmark, undated postmarks, or hand‑stamped postmarks. The Postal Service worked with the election office after the election to help determine the validity of postmarks and was able to validate all but about 40 postmarks. Postal Service guidance8 issued in fiscal year 2018 states that all ballots should be postmarked by machine or by hand. The Postal Service “ In response to the circumstances of worked with the absentee ballots not delivered in a timely election office after manner, the Manager, Lakeland District, is planning actions for future elections. the election to help Specifically, the District Manager will determine the validity communicate with all Postal Service employees involved in the processing of postmarks. of election mail to clarify their roles and responsibilities and Postal Service policies and procedures. Multiple subject matter experts will be assigned to assist the Political and Election Mail coordinator to better support election offices. In addition, each election office will be sent Kit 6009 as well as current Postal Service webpage links to be used as resources for designing and mailing ballots. ” Recommendation #1 Source: Photograph of absentee ballot for Village of Fox Point taken April 7, 2020. We recommend the Acting Vice President, Great Lakes Area, develop and implement a plan to communicate with the Wisconsin Election Commission and associated election offices the last day ballots can be mailed out to voters and arrive before an election based on the service standards of the Postal Service; the benefits of using the Intelligent Mail Barcode; and the importance of proper mailpiece addressing and design. 7 Political Mail And Official Election Mail Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) For Acceptance Units, Detached Mail Units and Post Offices, page 1. 8 David E. Williams (April 23, 2018), Postmarks on Ballots [Memorandum], United States Postal Service. 9 Kit 600, 2020 Official Election Mail Kit, is a comprehensive resource which contains election mail facts and publications. Management Alert — Timeliness of Ballot Mail in the Milwaukee P&DC Service Area Report Number 20-235-R20 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS TRANSMITTAL LETTER RESULTS APPENDICES BACK to COVER Recommendation #2 We recommend the Acting Vice President, Great Lakes Area, ensure all retail and delivery units and mail processing facilities use the political mail log to record ballot mail. Recommendation #3 We recommend the Acting Vice President, Great Lakes Area, ensure Political and Election Mail coordinators coordinate with election offices to ensure they are aware of proper ballot mailing processes. Potential National Issues While conducting our review, we also identified potential nationwide issues integrating election office’s vote by mail processes with the Postal Service processes which could impact future elections. We plan to conduct additional audit work on these issues during our ongoing Processing Readiness and Service Performance of Election and Political Mail We also identified During the 2020 General Elections audit potential nationwide and develop additional recommendations as necessary. issues integrating and how consulting with Political and Election Mail coordinators before printing mailpieces benefits the election offices. States’ Deadlines for Voters to Request Absentee Ballots are Insufficient to Ensure Delivery Before an Election States have deadlines for voters to request absentee ballots prior to an election. However, 11 states’ deadlines (those with no deadline or a deadline within three days of the election) do not provide sufficient time for election offices to generate a ballot and for the Postal Service to process and deliver the ballots to voters before the election. Additionally, we identified 13 other states with deadlines (4-6 days before election) that put ballots at high risk of not being delivered to voters before an election (see Table 1). Table 1. States with Ballot Request Deadlines Less Than Seven Days Before Election Day “ election office’s vote by mail processes with the Postal Service processes which could impact future elections.” On May 29, 2020, the Postal Service issued a letter10 to local and state election officials to provide an understanding of Postal Service procedures to consider when planning to use vote-by-mail. The letter explains how election mail can be sent, how mail delivery standards need to be considered when determining ballot return dates, how proper labeling helps prevent delivery delays and increases mailpiece visibility, how IMbs improve a mailer’s ability to track individual mailpieces, Number of Days Before Election Day No Deadline 1 day NH CT ND WA11 2 days 3 days 4 days 5 days 6 days — GA AL OK MA LA DE WV MN MI IL MT NM ME SD SC OR VT OH WI WY Source: Vote.org. 10 Thomas J. Marshall (May 29, 2020), Election Mail [Letter], United States Postal Service. 11 Washington is an “all-mail elections” state which means that every registered voter receives a ballot by mail. However, for voters that did not receive a ballot in the mail, there is no deadline for when a ballot can be requested. Management Alert — Timeliness of Ballot Mail in the Milwaukee P&DC Service Area Report Number 20-235-R20 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS TRANSMITTAL LETTER RESULTS APPENDICES BACK to COVER “ Ballots requested less than seven days before an election are at a high risk of not being delivered, completed by voters, and returned to the election offices in time” States that use vote-by-mail12 require voters, on average, to request a ballot at least seven days prior to an election. In our opinion, ballots requested less than seven days before an election are at a high risk of not being delivered, completed by voters, and returned to the election offices in time. This is due to the time required for election commissions to produce ballots and Postal Service delivery standards. For the Wisconsin primary election held Tuesday, April 7, 2020, the state of Wisconsin allowed voters to request ballots up until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 3, 2020. Many election offices provided these ballots to the Postal Service on Monday, April 6, 2020, one day before the election. The Postal Service’s First‑Class Mail delivery standard is two to five days (depending on delivery location) after it is received. Requirements for Postmarks on Ballots Many states use the postmark as the official timestamp for the ballot to be counted. As a result, the return processing and postmarking of ballots is considered critical to election results. Postal Service guidance13 issued on April 23, 2018, states that all ballots mailed back from voters must have a cancellation postmark including absentee ballots, vote-by-mail ballots, and business reply mail ballots. The Postal Service applies a postmark to a ballot when its processed on a machine or by hand if not processed on a machine. However, there can be breakdowns or exceptions to this process which would prevent a ballot from receiving a postmark. For example, ballots may be double fed on a machine, machines applying postmarks may run out of ink, or ballots may be comingled with certain mail that is not processed on machinery that applies a postmark. Ballots Not Always Mailed with Mail Tracking Technology The Postal Service and mailers are not able to track ballots that don’t have IMbs. While there is no requirement for ballots to have IMbs, election offices should be educated on the benefits IMbs provide.14 The ballots requested on March 22 and 23, 2020, for the Wisconsin election did not have IMbs. Therefore, neither the Postal Service nor the election office were able to determine what happened with those ballots beyond those that the election commission believes were not actually sent to voters by the election commission due to a computer glitch. The Milwaukee Election Office was unaware of the tracking capabilities of IMb prior to the election, but the Wisconsin Election Commission is working with a third-party mailer to consider implementing IMbs. Political and Election Mail Coordinators Outreach and Communication Postal Service personnel in each area and district are assigned the role of Political and Election Mail coordinator in addition to their normal duties. The coordinator is tasked with communicating with the election offices prior to and after each election to mitigate any known issues. However, some states have numerous elections offices which could make it more challenging for a Political and Election Mail coordinator to effectively communicate with all their assigned “ Some states have numerous elections offices which could make it more challenging for a Political and Election Mail coordinator to effectively communicate with all their assigned election offices.” 12 In vote-by-mail states, ballots are mailed out well ahead of Election Day and voters have an “election period,” not just a single day, to vote. 13 David E. Williams (April 23, 2018), Postmarks on Ballots [Memorandum], United States Postal Service. 14 IMbs are used to sort and track letters, cards, and flats on automated equipment. IMbs can be used by both the Postal Service and the mailer to track the delivery and return of ballots as they move through the Postal Service’s network. Management Alert — Timeliness of Ballot Mail in the Milwaukee P&DC Service Area Report Number 20-235-R20 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS TRANSMITTAL LETTER RESULTS APPENDICES BACK to COVER election offices. For example, the district Political and Election Mail coordinator in the Milwaukee area stated that he oversees about 1,400 of the 1,929 election offices in Wisconsin, which has the largest number of election offices, while states such as Maine and Alaska each have one election office. See Figure 2 for the states with the most election offices. Figure 2. Number of Election Offices by State Management's Comments Management agreed with the findings and recommendations. See Appendix A for management’s comments in their entirety. Regarding recommendation 1, management stated that they will continue to follow the established plan to communicate with Wisconsin Election officials about the Postal Service’s election mail recommendations and requirements, including their delivery standards, the benefits of using IMb and having proper mailpiece addressing and design. They met with Wisconsin Election officials on April 30, 2020, to discuss the various requirements and will continue to hold additional outreach meetings on these topics. Postal Service management considers this recommendation completed. Regarding recommendation 2, management stated they will ensure that all retail and delivery units and mail processing facilities use the political mail log to record ballot mail as required by policies. They will also reissue the policies and perform Service Talks across the Great Lakes Area and continue to reinforce and monitor compliance with the policies. The target implementation date is July 17, 2020. Source: https://www.fvap.gov/search-offices. Note: The states not shown have 120 or fewer election offices. Recommendation #4 We recommend the Chief Operating Officer & Executive Vice President, develop and implement an action plan with timelines to address the potential national issues (ballot deadlines, postmarks, tracking technology, Political and Election Mail coordinators outreach) identified in this report. Management Alert — Timeliness of Ballot Mail in the Milwaukee P&DC Service Area Report Number 20-235-R20 Regarding recommendation 3, management stated that the Great Lakes Area will continue to coordinate with election offices to ensure they are aware of proper mailing processes. Each district should have contacted the Board of Elections within its jurisdiction prior to June 30, 2020, to reinforce proper ballot procedures. In addition, on June 16, 2020, the Postal Service held a meeting with the Wisconsin Election Commission regarding ballot design and preparation and are working with the Wisconsin Election Commission to perform outreach to their various Board of Elections. The target implementation date is July 17, 2020. Regarding recommendation 4, management stated that the Postal Service has been and will continue to conduct outreach with state and local election officials to discuss the Postal Service’s delivery standards, the state’s deadlines, the availability of IMb tracking technology, and the comprehensive set of Election Mail resources on the Postal Service’s website. Management also reiterated the 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS TRANSMITTAL LETTER RESULTS APPENDICES BACK to COVER Postal Service’s policy requiring the postmarking of all returned ballots is being emphasized and monitored. In subsequent conversations with management they stated they have a plan to perform future outreach and actions to further address these issues and communicate their importance to the various state and local election commissions. The plan includes regularly scheduled meetings with Secretaries of State and various state and local election officials as well as bi-weekly meetings with stakeholders on topics such as mail standards versus state’s election timelines, IMb, and informed delivery. Evaluation of Management’s Comments Regarding recommendation 4, while we consider management’s comments to be responsive, we will not close this recommendation until we receive the detailed plan with all anticipated implementation dates. All recommendations require OIG concurrence before closure. Consequently, the OIG requests written confirmation when corrective actions are completed. Recommendations 2 through 4 should not be closed in the Postal Service’s follow-up tracking system until the OIG provides written confirmation that the recommendations can be closed. We consider recommendation 1 closed with the issuance of this report. The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG) considers management’s comments responsive to the recommendations and their planned actions should resolve the issues identified in the report. Management Alert — Timeliness of Ballot Mail in the Milwaukee P&DC Service Area Report Number 20-235-R20 9 TABLE OF CONTENTS TRANSMITTAL LETTER RESULTS APPENDICES BACK to COVER Appendices Click on the appendix title below to navigate to the section content. Appendix A: Management’s Comments...............................................11 Management Alert — Timeliness of Ballot Mail in the Milwaukee P&DC Service Area Report Number 20-235-R20 TABLE OF CONTENTS TRANSMITTAL LETTER RESULTS APPENDICES BACK to COVER Appendix A: Management’s Comments Management Alert — Timeliness of Ballot Mail in the Milwaukee P&DC Service Area Report Number 20-235-R20 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS TRANSMITTAL LETTER RESULTS APPENDICES BACK to COVER Management Alert — Timeliness of Ballot Mail in the Milwaukee P&DC Service Area Report Number 20-235-R20 12 TABLE OF CONTENTS TRANSMITTAL LETTER RESULTS APPENDICES BACK to COVER Management Alert — Timeliness of Ballot Mail in the Milwaukee P&DC Service Area Report Number 20-235-R20 13 TABLE OF CONTENTS TRANSMITTAL LETTER RESULTS APPENDICES BACK to COVER Management Alert — Timeliness of Ballot Mail in the Milwaukee P&DC Service Area Report Number 20-235-R20 14 TABLE OF CONTENTS TRANSMITTAL LETTER RESULTS APPENDICES BACK to COVER Contact us via our Hotline and FOIA forms. Follow us on social networks. Stay informed. 1735 North Lynn Street Arlington, VA 22209-2020 (703) 248-2100 For media inquiries, contact Agapi Doulaveris Telephone: 703-248-2286 adoulaveris@uspsoig.gov Management Alert — Timeliness of Ballot Mail in the Milwaukee P&DC Service Area Report Number 20-235-R20 15