Exclusive: UPS, FedEx warn they cannot carry ballots like U.S. Postal Service
BUSINESS NEWS AUGUST 14, 2020 / 8:14 PM / UPDATED 5 HOURS AGO
Lisa Baertlein
3 MIN READ
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - United Parcel Service and FedEx on Friday shot down social media calls that they step in to deliver mail-in ballots from the U.S. Postal Service, which is warning states of potentially “significant” delays.
State ballots must be postmarked to be considered valid and only the USPS has lawful postmarking status. Therefore UPS, FedEx and other private parties cannot technically be involved in shipping ballots,” UPS told Reuters in a statement.
“FedEx does accept individual ballots, and we advise that customers planning to return their ballots via FedEx should closely review their state’s guidelines on absentee voting and deadlines for ballots or related election documents,” FedEx said.
Republican President Donald Trump on Thursday said he opposed providing funds for the struggling Postal Service for mail voting, which is expected to surge to 50% as the coronavirus pandemic rages ahead of the Nov. 3 presidential election.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-ups-fedex-exclusive/exclusive-ups-fedex-warn-they-cannot-carry-ballots-like-u-s-postal-service-idUSKCN25B00I
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Amazon.com’s upstart delivery service has also been floated as an alternative. That service does not do residential pickups.
Representatives from Amazon and the Postal Service did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“Establishing a protocol of how they would collect the ballots would be a challenge,” Patrick said.
Domestic costs would skyrocket since delivery firms charge significantly more for deliveries than the price of a 55-cent stamp, which is the cost to return many ballots.
And, international costs would be “astronomical,” Patrick said.
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