As the 2020 election approaches and more people are choosing to vote by mail, reliable mail service is urgently needed across the country—but the evidence shows that people are having problems receiving mail, which could threaten their ability to vote.
New analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists, based on data obtained from Freedom of Information Act requests, shows troubling trends. The total number of mail delivery complaints nationwide has increased since March 2020. And in zip codes where 45 percent or more of the people are Black, Indigenous, or other people of color, the average number of complaints about mail delays from January to July 2020 is almost 50 percent higher than the average for all US zip codes.
On this topic
USPS Mail Delay Complaints
Mail Delays in BIPOC Communities
Inquiries per 1,000 People (April-July 2020)
Downloads
Citation
Mackinney, Taryn, Casey Kalman, Genna Reed, Michael Latner, and Gretchen Goldman. 2020. Signed, Sealed, But not Delivered: Communities of Color Face Higher USPS Mail Delays. Cambridge, MA: Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucsusa.org/node/13823
Related resources
Using the FACA Database
The Independent Science Initiative
Independent Science Committees
