Deputy Secretary of State Dave Scanlan said state officials recently met with representatives from the United States Postal Service to address concerns raised by local election officials about changes affecting absentee ballot delivery.
In early October, several clerks in different regions of New Hampshire reported that absentee ballots and other local mail was being routed through central processing centers in White River Junction or Manchester — even if it was just going from one address to another within the same community. The clerks who spoke up about the issue said this wasn’t how things were done during the September state primary, and they were surprised to learn about the change when sending out their absentee ballots for the general election.
(Earlier coverage: Some Local Election Officials Report Changes in Absentee Ballot Mail Delivery)
Scanlan said it is the policy of the postal service to route local mail through those processing centers. But he also said the postal service vowed to make election mail a priority leading up to the Nov. 3 general election.
“The Postal Service did assure us in that conversation that as we get closer to the election, they will be taking extra measures to make sure that absentee ballots are delivered to you on time,” Scanlan said, relaying these details during a public information session with local clerks Tuesday morning. “And if that means as we get closer, that that mail should remain in your local post office as opposed to getting transferred to a sorting facility first, that they will take that step.”
The Postal Service recently outlined a series of plans to put extra resources behind tracking and transporting absentee ballots. Local Election Mail Task Forces are also popping up across the country, meant to bring postal workers and management together to deal with potential ballot delivery issues.
“In the meantime,” Scanlan said, “we are still encouraging all voters who have requested absentee ballots and receive them to not wait to make sure that they get those to you so that they can be processed and arrive in time to be counted on Election Day.”
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