Federal Judge Orders That USPS Take Steps To Get Florida's Last-Minute Ballots Delivered On Time

Central Florida Public Media | By Joe Byrnes

Published October 30, 2020 at 11:03 AM EDT

U.S. Postal Service mail vehicles sit in a parking lot at a mail distribution center.

Florida’s largest health care workers union has won a federal court order designed to get the state’s last-minute mail-in ballots delivered on time.

On Monday and Tuesday, the U.S. Postal Service in each county will collect all the local ballots in one place and hand them over directly.

1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East sued the postal service earlier this month after it made sudden changes that slowed down mail delivery.

This close to the election in Florida, voters are advised to drop their ballots off instead of putting them in the mail.

But MacArthur Justice Center attorney Jonathan Manes says the order by Judge Robert Scola Jr. in Miami should make sure as many ballots as possible get there by 7 p.m. Tuesday.

It requires specific plans for the handoff of ballots.

“And also that in the last two days of the election that they’re going to be moving ballots directly to county supervisors so that ballots don’t get lost in a far-flung sorting facility,” Manes said.

The USPS also must report Monday morning on whether facilities in Florida’s 10 largest counties have cleared ballots properly.

If not, Manes said, they’ll be back in court.