An audit conducted by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) found that some postal facilities did not handle mail-in ballots correctly during this year’s primary elections. The audit, released on September 4, identified several issues, including a lack of staff training on how to efficiently process mail ballots, gaps in tracking systems, and errors that caused delays. These problems could have led to incorrect postmarks or late arrivals of ballots, potentially causing them to be rejected by election officials. However, the audit also noted that most postal facilities generally followed USPS election-related policies, and nearly 99% of ballots reached election officials on time. The findings come at a time when the U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether to allow the USPS to implement new rules for regulating mail voting, as outlined in an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump in March. This order requires states to provide the USPS with a list of eligible voters who can receive mail ballots, and it authorizes the Postal Service to use that list to determine which ballots to send. Critics, including some top USPS employees and a whistleblower who reported concerns to Senator Richard Blumenthal, argue that the new system could disenfranchise many voters due to its untested design. The American Postal Workers Union, representing postal workers, has warned the Supreme Court that implementing the rules could prevent many Americans from voting by mail. Some state election officials say the requirements would be too difficult to meet for the upcoming November election, as mail ballots are already being sent out this month. The audit highlighted a lack of proper training materials in 30% of 73 postal delivery units, meaning that staff in 22 of those locations had no resources to guide them on handling election mail. In 12% of 82 facilities, managers were unaware of how to properly postmark ballots, with some believing that ballots should be postmarked when sent to election offices, rather than when they are received at a processing center or retail counter. In five of nine mail processing facilities, retail clerks who manually postmarked ballots used stamps with incorrect dates, including one Pennsylvania facility during the state’s primary election, which resulted in 56 ballots being marked with the wrong date. Additionally, in 13 of 82 facilities, workers failed to follow procedures to ensure that election mail was sent out daily, with one instance in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, requiring 108 ballots to be rushed to Pittsburgh on the day of the election to be counted. The U.S. Postal Service acknowledged that while its overall performance in handling mail ballots has been strong, it can always improve its internal processes and training. The agency admitted that some employees did not follow procedures but described most errors as “isolated incidents,” such as when New Jersey ballots were mistakenly sent to Tennessee before being returned. The USPS agreed with all of the audit’s recommendations for preventing future issues, except for one that urged the agency to notify customers affected by new regional transportation plans. The Postal Service did not immediately respond to requests for additional comments on the findings.