Reports of slower mail delivery times nationally and across Colorado since mid-summer are causing concern as more voters than ever plan to vote by mail in the Nov. 3 election, to avoid coronavirus exposure.
But an unscientific experiment by the Colorado News Collaborative over the past month found little to be concerned about in the Centennial State.
Of 120 letters or padded envelopes sent from 24 cities and towns to 26 cities and towns, most arrived at their destination within two to four days. More than half arrived within two days, and another 31% arrived within three days.
The Postal Service acknowledged nationwide delivery slowdowns in areport to Congress late last month. Those slowdowns came after new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a former trucking company owner and Republican megadonor, ordered limits on overtime for postal workers and removal of some mail-sorting machines.
The Postal Service “is committed to delivering Election Mail in a timely manner,” a spokesman for the agency emailed. An Associated Press examination of delivery data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, however, indicated that no region of the country meets the target of more than 95% of first-class mail arriving within five days.
