Dayton Daily News...
Postal service to suspend closings due to elections 
March 12, 2012 

The U.S. Postal Service announced on Thursday it will suspend the closure of mail processing facilities across the country between September and January to avoid interfering with the Nov. 6. elections. 

The agency still plans to move ahead with closing about 223 processing facilities across the nation, including the Dayton facility at 1111 E. 5th St. that employs 432 workers. 

But postal officials promised to suspend closures during the election season to prevent disrupting the delivery and receipt of election-related mail, such as absentee ballots. 

“Mail is an increasingly important part of the U.S. election process and we are confident in the dependable and timely delivery of election-related mail,” said U.S. Postmaster General and CEO Patrick Donahoe in a prepared statement. 

The agency’s announcement came after elected officials in Ohio and across the nation voiced concerns about how the postal service’s consolidation plan could negatively impact mail-in ballots. 

The postal service plans to close nine mail processing facilities in Ohio and consolidate their operations into other centers across the state and region. Dayton’s operations would be transferred to Columbus. 

Last month, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted sent a letter to Donahoe saying that closing processing facilities in Ohio would result in mail needing to be shipped out of state for processing. 

He said he was concerned about the security of the elections, especially since some absentee ballots would have to be sent out of state both when the ballots were mailed to voters, and when they were filled out and returned to the county board of elections offices. 

“Drastic changes in how mail is processed could have unintended consequences, specifically when it comes to how Ohio voters’ absentee ballots are handled,” he said. 

The postal service has a moratorium on closing facilities that ends on May 15. That agreement was meant to give Congress time to enact postal reform legislation that could help remedy the agency’s budget woes. 

David Van Allen, a postal service spokesman, said the agency can begin closures after May 15, and they can continue until Aug. 31. 

“There is a chance there will be consolidations between May and August, but then in August we will suspend operations because of the elections coming up,” he said. 

A spokesman for Husted said the postal service’s plan addresses Husted’s concerns in the short-term. 

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, supports the decision to halt closures, and he said one of the most important services the postal service provides is ensuring voters the right to vote absentee. 

“We’ve seen how disruptive post office closures have been in the past — post offices provide essential services and it is important to maintain high-quality service for all Ohioans,” he said. 

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