Why this Virginia voter is concerned about her mail-in ballot: 'I'm frustrated'

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — With only 22 days left before the Presidential election, Betsy Spath thought she’d get her mail-in ballot by now.

“I was signed up as a permanent voter, to get my absentee ballots through the mail, every year, for perpetuity, for forever. And when it didn’t come by last week, I got a little concerned, because previously it had come a little before that,” Spath said.

Her registrar’s office in Chesterfield County said her ballot was sent to her Midlothian address on September 20, but Spath said she never got it.

She was then given two options: request a second mail-in ballot or vote in person.

“I’m just really nervous, I’m afraid it won’t come again. And that’s my only concern. I’ll be really up to the end to vote, and I don’t want to be in that position,” Spath said.

Though it’s unclear why Spath’s mail-in ballot hasn’t made it to her home yet, Virginia lawmakers, including Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, as well as Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, Representative Abigail Spanberger, and a staffer from Rob Wittman’s office, met with USPS Postmaster Louis DeJoy and Virginia Commissioner of Elections Susan Beals, and most came away from their meeting with a certainty that mail-in ballots will be handled efficiently for this election season.

According to their recent meeting, Richmond mail is now at about 85% efficiency with on-time delivery.

“The average time for a ballot to go through the mail, whether it’s going from, outbound, from the registrar to the voter, and then back in, the average time for that is 2.18 days, which is a relatively fast turnaround time,” Spanberger said.

Spath noted that most of her neighbors had received their mail-in ballots about three weeks ago, but she wasn’t the only one to not receive one.

“It’s never happened before, and I’ve had several neighbors tell me that their college kids have not received their ballots. So this is not just a one in a million, this is happening in Virginia, in 2024. And this is a big election, every vote counts, as in every election,” Spath said.

Around October 21, USPS will start employing “extraordinary measures,” where election mail will be made a top priority, and different routing measures may take place.

There will also be heightened attention to any mail tampering or election intimidation by mail.

Though USPS’s Inspector General’s Office listed Virginia as the fourth worst region for on-time mail delivery in the country, lawmakers said they’ve had productive conversations with both USPS and the Virginia Department of Elections about voting by mail.

“Because of the pressure that the delegation has put on the post office, not only to get the mail delivery times up, but to be more forthcoming and communicative, not only with their customers, but with us and now with the Department of Elections, I think we do feel comfortable that while we are not where we want to be with mail delivery time, we’re getting there,” McClellan said, noting that though there will be an increase in mail flow due to mail-in ballots, most people will likely still choose to vote in person.

Each representative shared a similar message with reporters at a press conference Friday: Mail your ballot or drop it off at your local post office as soon as possible, and if you’re able, vote in person.

Though Spath was told her second mail-in ballot would come within the next 10 days, she’s prepared to make alternative plans if it doesn’t.

“I’m going to get my vote in, no matter what,” she said.

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