The United States Postal Service has ordered Northwest Ohio mail to be sent to the Mail Processing Plant in Cleveland instead of the Metroplex facility in Pontiac, Michigan through the 2020 election, Congressman Bob Latta (R-OH) has announced.
According to information provided to Latta’s office, USPS Headquarters has said that they will divert Ohio mail normally bound for the Metroplex Sorting Facility to the Cleveland facility from September 16, 2020 through November 14, 2020. Latta had formally requested this change in June and had reiterated his request during a recent phone call with USPS officials. Mail that had previously been sent to the Columbus sorting facility will still be sent there.
Congressman Latta has repeatedly raised concerns about election mail – including absentee request forms and absentee ballots – being sent through the Michigan facility. At least 1,000 absentee ballots had been lost or were severely delayed in the 2016 election, and Latta’s office had been contacted by a significant number of constituents about problems in the 2018 election and this year’s primary election. Nearly all the problems were traced back to issues at the Metroplex facility in Pontiac. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose also requested that all Ohio ballots be sorted in Ohio facilities earlier this year.
Earlier this month, Latta voted against a House bill that would have infused an additional $25 billion into the USPS. He wrote at the time that he opposed the bill because he was concerned its provisions would prevent addressing his concerns about mail going to the Pontiac processing center.
“The USPS is making the right decision to keep all sorting of Ohio mail in Ohio through the election,” said Latta. “With absentee voting expected to increase this year, my constituents deserve to know that their vote will be counted.” He went on to say that he hopes the change will become permanent.
