# Trust in USPS mail ballots drops sharply

> Confidence that the Postal Service will deliver election mail on time has fallen 13 points in two years, returning to pandemic lows.
- Title: Trust in USPS mail ballots drops sharply · NPR | Shortify
- Summary: Confidence that the Postal Service will deliver election mail on time has fallen 13 points in two years, returning to pandemic lows. Public confidence in…
- Keywords: usps, mail-in voting, election security, 2026 midterms, public trust, polling, postal service, news, Trust, mail, ballots, drops
- Source: NPR — https://npr.org/2026/09/23/nx-s1-5978081/usps-election-mail-in-ballot
- Published: 2026-09-23T00:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: usps, mail-in voting, election security, 2026 midterms, public trust, polling, postal service, news
## Confidence in USPS drops sharply
An NPR/PBS News/Marist poll finds that trust in the U.S. Postal Service delivering mail-in ballots on time has fallen thirteen percentage points over two years, from seventy-one percent in twenty twenty-four to fifty-eight percent this year.
## Trust returns to pandemic levels
The share of registered voters confident in timely USPS election mail delivery has returned to levels last seen in the fall of twenty twenty, during the height of the COVID-nineteen pandemic.
## Poll conducted after court ruling
This national poll of one thousand two hundred eighty voters was conducted September fourteenth to fifteenth in English and Spanish, shortly after a Supreme Court ruling blocked the Trump administration from restricting voting by mail for the midterms.
## USPS claims strong performance
The Postal Service says it delivered more than two hundred thirty-three million pieces of election mail this fiscal year through the end of August, with an on-time score of ninety-seven point ninety-four percent.

> There has been a lot of misinformation recently about the Postal Service's role in the electoral process, which may have had an impact on public sentiment.
## Restructuring has caused delays
USPS began a controversial ten-year restructuring plan in twenty twenty-one to cut costs as first-class mail declined. The effort has led to longer expected delivery times and lowered service-performance goals the agency has been unable to fully reach.
## Postmark changes affect ballot rejection
Changes to when mail gets a postmark have affected ballot acceptance. In Washington state, nineteen counties saw their rate of ballots rejected due to late postmarks more than double for this year's primary election compared with twenty twenty-four.
## Partisan divide on mail voting persists
Democratic voters are more likely to vote by mail than Republicans. Republicans are more likely to believe there is fraud in mail voting, while a twenty twenty-five Brookings Institution review found mail-voting fraud to be exceptionally rare.
## Most voters expect fair midterms
Seventy-five percent of voters report they feel confident their state or local government will run a fair and accurate election for the midterms, up from sixty-nine percent polled in March. Fifty-five percent say there is little or no fraud in mail voting.
## Key takeaway

Public confidence in USPS delivering mail-in ballots on time fell from seventy-one percent in twenty twenty-four to fifty-eight percent in twenty twenty-six, matching twenty twenty lows.