Scott Schwab ’empathetic’ to USPS issues but says voters shouldn’t rely on it

Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab said he’s “pleased” with a conversation with United States Postal Service Postmaster General Louis DeJoy after criticizing his agency’s response to issues with mailed ballots.

On Sept. 9 Schwab sent a letter to DeJoy over the mishandling of nearly 1,000 ballots in Kansas. In a Sept. 28 news release, the Schwab indicated that he hadn’t heard back from DeJoy.

“I am deeply troubled by the USPS’s dismissal of these concerns, especially given the November General Election is weeks away,” Schwab said at the time.

Since then, Schwab has publicly asked Kansans to avoid returning ballots by mail and said voters should instead opt for designated drop boxes or take advantage of early voting at county election offices.

In a news release on Thursday Schwab said he finally had a conversation with DeJoy and said the conversation was fruitful.

“I had a productive conversation with Postmaster General DeJoy today,” Schwab said. “He reassured me that the USPS will implement new measures to prevent similar issues in the upcoming General Election and acknowledged past errors in processing primary ballots.”

But Schwab stopped short of advocating for returning mailed ballots through the postal service.

“This is why we are encouraging voters who vote by mail to use a more secure way of returning your ballot to the county election office, if possible,” Schwab said.