4 ms·

I’m not sure about that. Does a letter being delivered within the same zip code even touch these machines? I would guess that the vast majority of mailed ballo

by zaroth 6y ago

I’m not sure about that. Does a letter being delivered within the same zip code even touch these machines? I would guess that the vast majority of mailed ballots would be for local delivery and sorted by the mail carrier at the point they are picked up, and never hit one of these regional distribution centers. And ballots on the way out would be pre-sorted.

stouset 6y ago
And if the post office is overwhelmed with work due to decommissioned sorting machines?
- zaroth 6y ago
  I think you've got it backwards. The point is the letter sorting machines aren't running because there aren't enough letters.
dragonwriter 6y ago
> Does a letter being delivered within the same zip code even touch these machines? Completed ballots are only occasionally mailed in the same zip code, and often not the same city, as they tend to be mailed in to county election offices, not the precinct balloting locations (which often aren't permanent government facilities and when they are still are not permanently associated with the elections office.) So, yes, machines that sort non-local (not same zip) mail would handle most mail in ballots. And the postal service has been notifying state officials that (despite it never being a problem before) it's “delivery standards” do not support delivery ballots on the timelines in each notified states law for mail ballotsm And the President has openly stated that he is opposing Postal Service funding to block use of mail-in ballots. It's not even something that is trying to be hidden.
- zaroth 6y ago
  "Motherboard identified 19 mail sorting machines from five processing facilities across the U.S. that either have already been removed or are scheduled to be in the near future." I think it's reasonable to question how many ballots being sent to local county offices would cross paths with one of these five regional processing facilities. Even the Motherboard article acknowledges this; "Paul McKenna, president of Milwaukee Area Local 3 of the American Postal Workers Union, said that some of the DBCSs staying will have about 50 more stackers added to them, meaning the machines can sort mail to a larger number of destinations. This will help alleviate the pressure during high mail volume periods like the Christmas rush—when there is simply more mail in general to all places—as well as provide advantages during lower-volume periods like the dead of summer. But it won’t necessarily help the unique challenge of election mail. In that case, the mail surge stays local."
  - ardy42 6y ago
    > I think it's reasonable to question how many ballots being sent to local county offices would cross paths with one of these five regional processing facilities. It really depends on the details. Are those processing facilities serving urban areas of some swing states? Even if it's just 1% of the ballots, those ballots could be the ones that decide the election. > Even the Motherboard article acknowledges this; >> ...some of the DBCSs staying will have about 50 more stackers added to them, meaning the machines can sort mail to a larger number of destinations.... It's not that clear, that same article also says this: > The postal workers Motherboard spoke to said having machines removed, replaced, or modified is nothing new, but this time it seems to be more widespread, include a larger number of machines at their respective facility, and potentially impacts the facility’s ability to process large numbers of mail, including ballots, in a short time span. Given other statements made by this administration, people are right to be extremely skeptical of the motivations here. At a minimum the optics of making this change now are extremely bad. Even if there's a rational, honest reason for this change; the project should be postponed until December for that reason alone.

by zaroth 6y ago

stouset 6y ago

And if the post office is overwhelmed with work due to decommissioned sorting machines?

zaroth 6y ago
I think you've got it backwards. The point is the letter sorting machines aren't running because there aren't enough letters.

dragonwriter 6y ago

> Does a letter being delivered within the same zip code even touch these machines? Completed ballots are only occasionally mailed in the same zip code, and often not the same city, as they tend to be mailed in to county election offices, not the precinct balloting locations (which often aren't permanent government facilities and when they are still are not permanently associated with the elections office.) So, yes, machines that sort non-local (not same zip) mail would handle most mail in ballots. And the postal service has been notifying state officials that (despite it never being a problem before) it's “delivery standards” do not support delivery ballots on the timelines in each notified states law for mail ballotsm And the President has openly stated that he is opposing Postal Service funding to block use of mail-in ballots. It's not even something that is trying to be hidden.

zaroth 6y ago
"Motherboard identified 19 mail sorting machines from five processing facilities across the U.S. that either have already been removed or are scheduled to be in the near future." I think it's reasonable to question how many ballots being sent to local county offices would cross paths with one of these five regional processing facilities. Even the Motherboard article acknowledges this; "Paul McKenna, president of Milwaukee Area Local 3 of the American Postal Workers Union, said that some of the DBCSs staying will have about 50 more stackers added to them, meaning the machines can sort mail to a larger number of destinations. This will help alleviate the pressure during high mail volume periods like the Christmas rush—when there is simply more mail in general to all places—as well as provide advantages during lower-volume periods like the dead of summer. But it won’t necessarily help the unique challenge of election mail. In that case, the mail surge stays local."
- ardy42 6y ago
  > I think it's reasonable to question how many ballots being sent to local county offices would cross paths with one of these five regional processing facilities. It really depends on the details. Are those processing facilities serving urban areas of some swing states? Even if it's just 1% of the ballots, those ballots could be the ones that decide the election. > Even the Motherboard article acknowledges this; >> ...some of the DBCSs staying will have about 50 more stackers added to them, meaning the machines can sort mail to a larger number of destinations.... It's not that clear, that same article also says this: > The postal workers Motherboard spoke to said having machines removed, replaced, or modified is nothing new, but this time it seems to be more widespread, include a larger number of machines at their respective facility, and potentially impacts the facility’s ability to process large numbers of mail, including ballots, in a short time span. Given other statements made by this administration, people are right to be extremely skeptical of the motivations here. At a minimum the optics of making this change now are extremely bad. Even if there's a rational, honest reason for this change; the project should be postponed until December for that reason alone.