Colonial Williamsburg is a quaint bubble frozen in America맥스카지노�s Revolutionary War past 맥스카지노� back when news, like the results of an election, say, spread as fast as a horse could carry it. Three miles away and three centuries later, it now sometimes takes even longer.Holding an absentee ballot envelope in her hand, James City County, Virginia, Director of Elections Dianna S. Moorman recently pointed out, 맥스카지노�This ballot was for the presidential election in 2016. And we did not get the ballot back until November 30 of 2017맥스카지노� 맥스카지노� two elections late. That ballot did not count, the voter disenfranchised by a woefully tardy delivery by the U.S. Postal Service. Another ballot Moorman showed a reporter had been torn nearly in half and would not have counted had the election office not tracked down the voter to cast a new ballot. Dozens more mailed by voters were rejected, stamped by the Postal Service as 맥스카지노�return to sender맥스카지노� 맥스카지노� undeliverable. The pre-printed address? The county election office.맥스카지노�We had over 40 ballots that were returned back to the voters맥스카지노� marked that way, Moorman said, still taken aback by the colossal USPS error of inexplicably not recognizing the county office its carriers deliver to every day. Postal problems affecting votes Those are some of the many examples the Hearst Television National Investigative Unit has uncovered of problems across the country with how the Postal Service handles ballots in the mail, leading to urgent calls to fix the issues before November맥스카지노�s general election. They are not instances of fraud, but rather failures to get ballots where they need to go. Voter Jillian Santella, a publicist and founder of One in a Million Media in New York City, said she was 맥스카지노�baffled맥스카지노� when she learned her absentee ballot did not count. It was postmarked by the post office, she says, three days after she mailed it 맥스카지노� and after the June 23 primary election.She맥스카지노�s now part of a lawsuit in a closely-watched congressional race to get it to count, a complaint on behalf of thousands with similar late or missing postmarks. After questioning by the National Investigative Unit, a spokesman for the Postal Service acknowledged it has not always followed its own policy to stamp mail with a 맥스카지노�legible postmark.맥스카지노�"I think it's just overall chaos,맥스카지노� Santella said in an interview, 맥스카지노�and I think there's a lot of problems happening with the Postal Service right now."USPS: 맥스카지노�Financially unsustainable position맥스카지노�Through the same spokesman, new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Republican Party donor with no prior experience at the semi-independent federal agency, declined a request for an interview for this story.In a statement to the National Investigative Unit July 15, the Postal Service said its "financial condition is not going to impact our ability to deliver election and political mail this year."But just two weeks later, DeJoy said in a release that the Postal Service "is in a financially unsustainable position" and will begin "vigorously focusing on the efficiency of our operations." A spokesman later said the two statements are not in conflict because DeJoy was referring to 맥스카지노�huge deficits맥스카지노� reported year after year and the burden of prefunding payments to retiree health benefits, as required by Congress 맥스카지노� not delaying election mail.But Congress soon complained about reports of no more overtime for letter carriers to ensure ballots 맥스카지노� or any other mail 맥스카지노� all get delivered each day, along with sudden closings of post offices scheduled for as soon as later this month, both of which could have dire impacts on the election, critics warn.In a sharp response, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said it would "likely be a violation" of federal law and USPS rules to move forward with some of the changes without providing at least 120 days맥스카지노� notice, writing to DeJoy, 맥스카지노�you are now proposing the very cuts that we sought to avoid맥스카지노� with congressionally-appropriated aid from earlier in the year.맥스카지노�Very scary thought맥스카지노�Sudden cuts to postal operations so soon before a general election 맥스카지노� in the midst of a pandemic with surging, record-setting volumes of ballots sent by mail 맥스카지노� is 맥스카지노�a very scary thought,맥스카지노� according to Barbara Goeckner, who helps oversee elections in the village of Cambridge, Wisconsin, and serves on a Postal Service committee for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission."This just will exacerbate those problems,맥스카지노� Goeckner explained in an interview from her office on the day when she was preparing dozens of voter-requested absentee ballots for mailing, having sent out hundreds of them already.맥스카지노�I just hope and pray that the postal system doesn't have that type of a breakdown in process where it delays any deliveries or that there are any closings prior to Election Day,맥스카지노� she said.Goeckner and other local election officials interviewed for this story said they have already seen breakdowns in the use of two key election tools:Some postal workers are apparently removing lime green election mail placards, known as tag 191, from election mail and don맥스카지노�t know that they맥스카지노�re used to elevate the importance of the ballots.Postal workers occasionally short-circuit the use of intelligent mail barcodes that track ballots by delivering election mail directly to P.O. boxes or to carriers for delivery, instead of sending the mail to processing centers where the IMB codes are scanned.Election clerks uniformly blame a lack of internal post office training, which they hope will be remedied by Nov. 3. When asked about both issues, the USPS said in a follow-up statement it intends to provide additional training, 맥스카지노�increasing those communications as we get closer to the General Elections.맥스카지노�"Those should be used at all times,맥스카지노� Goeckner emphasized.Calls for immediate changesThe former number two at the United States Postal Service, Ron Stroman, agrees changes are needed before November맥스카지노�s elections. Stroman was the deputy postmaster general for nine years until he left in June, just before new Postmaster General DeJoy arrived, and is now a senior fellow at Democracy Fund.Stroman suggests states take these immediate steps:Change 맥스카지노�unrealistic맥스카지노� deadlines for voters to request absentee ballots 맥스카지노� and to mail them 맥스카지노� to much earlier, preferably so voters request an absentee ballot by Oct. 13 and return their ballots in the mail by Oct. 24, a full week before election day. Currently, 38 states and the District of Columbia allow ballot applications by mail seven or fewer days before the election 맥스카지노� far too late, Stroman warns.Stop using slower, cheaper "marketing mail" for ballots and place them in first-class mail, instead, which has a two to five day delivery standard; in the 2018 midterm elections, 113,770 absentee ballots were rejected by tabulating officials for missing return deadlines, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.Make all ballot envelopes compatible with USPS technology, to take advantage of greater automation. In addition, Stroman wants the Postal Service to immediately:Set an "aggressive," 100% on-time target for ballot delivery; right now, it's effectively around 96% for all first-class mail.Give postal workers additional training on how to handle election mail, including on the importance on the consistent handling of tag 191 and IMB codes on ballot envelopes.Potentially rescind the new ban on most overtime for mail deliveries, part of the new postmaster general's broad efficiency orders."These kinds of sweeping changes,맥스카지노� Stroman said of DeJoy맥스카지노�s edicts, have 맥스카지노�significantly slowed mail.맥스카지노� He says waiting until after the election to make such substantive changes 맥스카지노�would be my advice.맥스카지노�Since 2012, the Government Accountability Office found, the Postal Service has closed or partially consolidated 179 of its processing centers, or 36% of the total, which has impacted delivery times, numerous reviews have found. Financial results reported Friday show the USPS had a net loss of $2.2 billion in the fiscal third quarter, down 4% from the same period last year..Mark Albert is the chief national investigative correspondent for the Hearst Television National Investigative Unit, based in Washington D.C. April Chunko and Samone Blair contributed to this report.Know of election security problems or voter suppression? Have a confidential tip? Send information and documents to the National Investigative Unit at investigate@hearst.com.