USPS: More than 99 Million Ballots Processed During 2024 General Election

Today, the United States Postal Service released its 2024 Post-Election Analysis Report, outlining the agency’s steps to process more than 99.22 million ballots in the 2024 general election. The full report can be read here: 2024 Post-Election Analysis Report.

“In 2024, the Postal Service once again admirably performed our role of efficiently and effectively delivering the nation’s ballots,” said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. “As we continue to transform the nation’s postal network to better meet the demands of the modern mailing and shipping customer, we stand ready to work with policymakers at all levels to make the nation’s effective vote by mail process even stronger.”

The Postal Service’s success in 2024 was the result of a deepened focus on operational precision and integrated communications, the engagement of the USPS Election and Government Mail Services team and execution of longstanding, proven operational processes and procedures, including extraordinary measures.

As in previous general elections, the Postal Service deployed extraordinary measures in the final weeks of the election season to swiftly move Ballot Mail entered close to or on Election Day and/or the state’s return deadline. Extraordinary measures began on Monday, Oct. 21, continued nationwide through Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5, and extended through the last day in each state that boards of elections accepted completed mail-in ballots as timely.

In 2024, the Postal Service’s extraordinary measures included but were not limited to: extra deliveries and collections; special pick-ups; specialized sort plans at processing facilities to expedite delivery to boards of elections; and local handling and transportation of ballots.

Key 2024 Election Mail Performance Statistics

 As part of the nation’s critical infrastructure, USPS is responsible for processing, transporting, and delivering the nation’s Election Mail safely, securely, and on time. During the General Election, USPS processed more than 99 million ballots. On average, Ballot Mail sent from voters to election officials were delivered within one day.

•  99.22 Million Ballots Processed in the 2024 General Election: During the general election period of September 1 – November 15, the Postal Service delivered at least 99.22 million ballots to or from voters.*
• 99.88 Percent of Ballots Delivered to Election Officials Within a Week: The agency successfully processed, transported and delivered 99.88 percent of ballots from voters to election officials within seven days, and 99.64 percent within five days.**
• 97.73 Percent of Ballots Delivered from Voters to Election Officials Within Three Days: The Postal Service successfully returned 97.73 percent of ballots from voters to local election officials in fewer than three days.
• 1 Day Average Delivery Time for Ballots from Voters to Election Officials: On average, the Postal Service delivered ballots from voters to election officials within one day.
• 3.37 Billion Pieces of Political and Election Mail Delivered in 2024: The total mail volume surpassed 3 billion mailpieces for both Political and Election Mail tracked.

 As an essential part of the nation’s disaster response network, readiness and preparation for natural disasters are standard procedure for the Postal Service. In September and October 2024, Hurricanes Helene and Milton devastated portions of Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina just weeks before the election. However, through the deployment of extraordinary measures in the weeks before Election Day, voters in the impacted areas who chose to use the mail to vote received performance comparable with the rest of the nation.

Recommendations To Improve the Nation’s Vote by Mail System in Future Election Cycles

The Postal Service is both a national service and a world-class logistics organization. As such, consistent policies are needed nationwide to ensure that operations run smoothly, that the 640,000 USPS employees understand what is expected of them, and the millions of customers can have trust in the Postal Service’s ability to deliver for them. At the same time, when it comes to the delivery of Election Mail, there are 50 states and nearly 8,000 election jurisdictions that are far from uniform in their election laws and practices, and that often do not consider how the mail system works.

This can result in a mismatch of timeframes, deadlines, ballot return suggestions and the practical reality of using the mail. Many of these laws and practices were not established with the Postal Service’s operations in mind.

As USPS continues to transform the nation’s postal network to better meet the demands of the modern mailing and shipping customer, the organization stands ready to work with policymakers at all levels to continue educating them on how the mail works. While the Postal Service provides effective, efficient, and reliable service for all mail, including Election Mail, there are long-standing recommendations that policymakers should consider to help expedite the transport of mail-in ballots to and from voters including:

• Following and implementing USPS recommendations on mail piece preparation
• Applying visibility tools to Election and Ballot Mail
• Better understanding of Postal Operations
• Continuing voter education initiatives on state laws and reasonable mailing deadlines