U.S. Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH5) has asked the Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer of the United States Postal Service to do a formal study into the possibility of having mail from Northwest processed at an Ohio facility. The mail now goes through the USPS Michigan Metroplex Facility in Pontiac, Michigan.
A press release about the request states: “The local postal carriers and the people who work to deliver the mail do a great job, but unfortunately, for years, the United States Postal Service Michigan Metroplex Facility has failed to reliably deliver mail, including bills and vote-by-mail ballots, to residents of Ohio’s Fifth Congressional District.”
Latta would like that mail to move through either the Cleveland Mail Processing Plant or the Columbus Mail Processing Plant.
Mail had been handled in Toledo, until that processing plant was closed in 2012. Since then the mail was sent to the Michigan Metroplex for processing and sorting, before delivery. “Unfortunately, this process has created delays and added time to the delivery of each mail piece. In addition to delivery delays, we have also seen increased instances of lost or discarded mail. The most egregious example of this was in 2016 when hundreds of absentee ballots were lost,” Latta wrote in the letter.
“Since 2016, I have tried to work with the Postal Service to get answers as to why these delays continue to occur and if the Postal Service could improve the operations at the Michigan Metroplex. I received assurances that the Postal Service took these matters seriously and were working to improve operations. Sadly, even with these assurances, I continue to receive a constant stream of complaints from my constituents about mail delivery issues, ranging from delayed mail to lost mail. Local courts have seen delayed delivery of jury summons; seniors have been forced to pay late fees because the delivery of their bill payments was slowed; and voters have had to worry about their ballots not being counted due to delivery delays.”
Latta said that “the continued uncertainty created by the COVID-19 health crisis” will result in an increase in the number of voters voting by mail.
“That is why it is imperative that the system is working, and the mail is being delivered in a timely fashion,” Latta concludes. “I cannot place confidence in the Michigan Metroplex to accomplish this goal. That is why I would ask that your office assesses the feasibility of transferring mail processing responsibilities for Northwest Ohio to a different facility.”
