Additional Coverage:
A ruling from a New York state court has now permitted voters in the state to cast their votes by mail for upcoming elections, with a video segment explaining the decision shown on CBS’s digital platform.
Meanwhile, the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced on Thursday that it plans to implement further cost reductions to enhance its financial stability. These changes, which include modifying delivery logistics, might lead to slower mail delivery times for some customers.
This initiative follows a decade-long strategy aimed at curtailing the multi-billion-dollar losses the USPS has endured, aiming to steer the agency towards profitability. The strategy, introduced under the leadership of Postmaster Louis DeJoy, had earlier adjusted delivery standards from a three-day to a five-day window.
The newly proposed adjustments are expected to save about $3 billion annually, although they could result in increased delivery times for certain areas, particularly remote locations or those requiring mail to cover greater distances.
Despite these efforts, the USPS has seen a significant decline in first-class mail volume, dropping from nearly 64 billion pieces in 2014 to 46 billion in 2023. Critics, including Rep. Gerry Connolly, have voiced concerns over these changes, particularly in light of simultaneous price hikes, fearing a further decline in customer usage which could worsen the USPS’s financial woes.
The Postal Service has accumulated over $87 billion in losses from 2007 to 2020. It plans to discuss these latest proposed changes in greater detail at a meeting scheduled for September 5 before finalizing submissions to the Postal Regulatory Commission.
Officials assured that the changes would not impact the delivery of election-related mail or holiday shipments this year, nor would they affect the dispatch speed of medications, which could potentially be delivered even faster. The overall plan includes the optimization of its logistical network, aligning with developments at major regional hubs such as those in Atlanta; Richmond, Virginia; and Portland, Oregon. Additional reporting on this topic was contributed by Associated Press.