As if we did not have enough to worry about between health, economy, and schools, there are now fears around a reduced-service postal system. As a retiree managing several prescription medications, I now have to mediate between guessing the amount of time needed to get medications by mail and the allowable dates for reordering, as this window of time gets increasingly small.
The moribund US Postal Service has never before been under such assault. But regardless of its many criticisms, the USPS serves as a vital link for personal and business correspondence as well as commerce.
In this election year combined with pandemic, with millions cloistered at home, that role has taken on even greater significance and urgency. It is clear that government alone, either by acts of omission or commission, will not be the answer to the problem of large-scale voting by mail.
The solution calls for some “in the box” thinking. Namely a public/private partnership that leverages the economies of scale in today’s society. For many years now the postal system has not been the only means of mail delivery. There are at least two major services, Fedex and UPS, that handle a huge volume of transactions.
The government should now enlist these companies in the patriotic endeavor of assisting the postal service in this time of greatest need.
The “in the box” solution:
– Every UPS store and Fedex Office location in the country should have a vote-by-mail drop box. These votes can then be delivered by those companies to the appropriate voting authorities in each state, lessening the burden and potential choke point of the US post offices alone.
– The boxes can be locked and if placed inside the retail outlet they can be observed by store personnel ensuring a high degree of security.
– These private delivery services have numerous retail locations—often in dense shopping areas—making the boxes a convenient drop-off point.
– From a cost standpoint, the amount of ballot envelopes should not represent any substantial burden to the delivery trucks that service their own retail locations daily, along with the current transport logistics that will lead to delivery at the proper vote counting locations.
– Given low true incremental cost and as a goodwill gesture for the country, Fedex and UPS could price the delivery no more than what is charged by USPS for the same service. The financial impact to these large companies should be minimal, especially compared to the publicity value of their support.
– The extra volume may even lead to additional short-term hiring by these companies—much needed by the many pushed out of work by the virus—which could then lead to these workers staying on to handle the holiday crush of packages.
In times of overwhelming struggle, cooperation between the commercial segment and the government can often lead to the quickest and most efficient solution. The issues with the current mail system seems ripe for a partnership that has all the major logistics already in place, and represents a beneficial strategy for everyone.
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