USPS mail carrier, another Colorado resident accused of submitting stolen ballots, some of which counted



A United States Postal Service mail carrier in Colorado and one of her acquaintances have been accused of intercepting mail-in ballots in the lead-up to the 2024 election and then casting them fraudulently.

In late October, officials in Mesa County in Western Colorado began receiving complaints from some Grand Valley residents who claimed they never received their mail-in ballots, yet these same ballots had apparently already been submitted and then rejected because of a signature mismatch.

The 21st District Attorney’s Office formally opened an investigation into the complaints on October 21.

Investigators then discovered that ballots were missing from mailbox clusters but that there had been no sign of forced entry, suggesting an inside job. They also learned that several complainants lived within a half-mile of one another and that on October 12, Vicki Lyn Stuart, a 64-year-old mail carrier, had substituted for the regular carrier on a mail route in the area.

On October 24, Stuart allegedly told investigators that she had merely cross-referenced the names on the mail-in ballots with the names on the mailboxes. If they names did not match, she allegedly marked them "return to sender."

She estimated she marked about 20 ballots in that way and assured investigators that "there was no chance her DNA would be on the inside of any of the envelopes," an affidavit said. She denied any involvement in a voter fraud scheme.

The USPS later informed investigators that such cross-referencing goes against protocol and that mail carriers are required to deliver ballots regardless of name matches "as they may not know for certain if someone is living at a particular address or not," the affidavit said.

'I am proud our security measures are effective.'

It is unclear what led investigators to contact Sally Jane Maxedon, 59, about the incident, but they spoke with her on Election Day.

Initially, Maxedon allegedly admitted that she "falsely completed voting ballots which did not belong to her," the affidavit said. She then reportedly spun a wild tale involving a male Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent, a truck, and a mall parking lot. She even drew investigators a map.

Eventually though, Maxedon allegedly confessed that she and Stuart are friends and that they had recently concocted a scheme to "test" the signature verification of mail-in ballots. According to the affidavit, their goal was "to determine if the signature verification process would detect if the forged signatures were not those of the known voter signatures on file."

Maxedon allegedly claimed that Stuart began stealing the ballots and handing them over to her to be completed.

So far, officials have identified at least 16 victims but believe there could be 20 or more. Of the ballots the women allegedly submitted, at least nine were removed because of suspected fraud, while at least three were processed and counted.

"Once signatures are checked, the ballot is pulled independently from the envelope and it’s put into the (counting) process," Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said at a press conference.

On the day after the election, both Maxedon and Stuart were arrested. They each face more than a dozen felony charges related to forgery, identity theft, and attempt to influence a public servant.

USPS later confirmed to Rocky Mountain PBS that Stuart is an employee and that she has since been placed on "emergency, non-duty status."

Whether the victims were ever able to cast a ballot in the election is unclear.

Mesa County clerk and recorder Bobbie Gross indicated that the unearthed alleged scheme proves that the system works.

"I am deeply grateful for the diligence and thorough efforts of the District Attorney’s Office in addressing this matter. I am proud our security measures are effective, and we will remain vigilant to safeguard the integrity of our elections," Gross said in a statement, according to Rocky Mountain PBS.

Oddly enough, the Colorado Sun used the incident of alleged voter fraud to slam those who dare to raise questions about election integrity, noting that Stuart is a registered Republican and that the allegedly fraudulent ballots represent only a tiny fraction of the vote totals in the county.

"Mesa County is a Republican-dominated part of the state" that has "been central to election conspiracies peddled by conservatives in recent years," the outlet wrote.

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‘Pervasive’ issues with USPS mail delivery could disenfranchise voters, election officials warn: ‘Not one-off mistakes’



State and local election officials nationwide sent a joint letter Wednesday to the United States Postal Service Postmaster General Louis DeJoy stating that the federal government’s mail service had failed to improve its delivery issues before the upcoming November election.

The letter, sent by the National Association of State Election Directors and the National Association of Secretaries of State, raised concerns that the USPS will be unable to manage the approaching flood of mail-in ballots. The presidents of 29 local election official associations also signed the joint correspondence.

'It demonstrates a pervasive lack of understanding and enforcement of USPS policies.'

They warned about “inconsistent training of USPS staff,” “exceptionally long delivery times,” and an “increase in mail returned as undeliverable.”

Election officials in all 50 states “have raised serious questions about processing facility operations, lost or delayed election mail, and front-line training deficiencies impacting USPS’s ability to deliver election mail in a timely and accurate manner,” it read.

The election officials claimed that, over the past year, they “have not seen improvement or concerted efforts to remediate our concerns,” noting that many of those concerns were confirmed in a recent inspector general audit.

They argued that USPS staff is “uninformed” about the mail service’s policies regarding election mail, which has, in some cases, led to “inconsistent guidance” and ultimately “disenfranchised” voters.

“The frequency and widespread distribution of training-related issues, however, make it clear these are not one-off mistakes or a problem with specific facilities,” the letter continued. “Instead, it demonstrates a pervasive lack of understanding and enforcement of USPS policies among its employees.”

According to the letter, election officials “in nearly every state ... are receiving timely postmarked ballots well after Election Day and well outside the three to five business days USPS claims as the First-Class delivery standard.”

“In other cases, ballots sent to election offices are being returned to the voter with the election office address marked as undeliverable,” it added, noting that this issue is also occurring “nationwide.”

Such errors could cause a voter to be moved to the inactive voter registration list, which would require them to take additional action to reverify their participation, the letter noted.

“The increase in undeliverable mail raises two significant issues: (1) the potential disenfranchisement of voters whose ballots are not delivered to them or to their election office, and (2) putting eligible voters on the path to having their voter registration record canceled,” it stated.

In a statement to NBC News, a USPS spokesperson responded to the letter, saying, “We are currently delivering mail in 2.7 days, although we continue to recommend as a common-sense measure that voters should mail their completed ballot before Election Day, and at least one week prior to their state’s deadline.”

“As we have discussed widely with election officials, the Postal Service is in the midst of network modernization,” the spokesperson continued. “Election Mail routinely outperforms our regular service performance due to our long-standing processes and procedures.”

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A recent audit conducted by the United States Postal Service’s inspector general found major issues at a mail processing facility in Richmond, Virginia, that confirmed previous reports of ongoing delivery issues, the Associated Press reported.

The March audit report, “Effectiveness of the New Regional Processing and Distribution Center in Richmond, VA,” was released just one month after Keith Balmer, the general registrar for the City of Richmond, warned voters not to mail their ballots.

Balmer stated during a February town hall event, “The reports we’ve been receiving about delayed, misplaced, or even missing mail are deeply troubling, especially as we approach crucial electoral events like the Presidential Election in November.”

The election official encouraged voters to “consider alternative methods of submission,” Blaze News previously reported. He acknowledged that the mail delivery failures “represent a fundamental threat to our democracy.”

“To address these concerns and mitigate potential voter disenfranchisement, I strongly recommend bypassing USPS and utilizing one of the three drop boxes located in the city for ballot submission,” Balmer remarked.

Richmond-area residents have been sounding the alarm about the USPS’ mail issues for months.

The inspector general stated that the purpose of the recent audit was to assess the effectiveness of the USPS’ “modernized network based around Regional Processing and Distribution Centers.”

“The U.S. Postal Service is redesigning its processing network with the goal of creating a best-in-class mail and package processing network as part of its 10-year strategic Delivering for America plan,” the audit read. “The Richmond Processing and Distribution Center became the first RP&DC, in July 2023, consolidating operations from nearby facilities.”

The audit noted that the Richmond facility “faced many challenges” that caused the USPS “to incur additional labor and transportation costs, totaling over $8 million in questioned costs over the first four months of operations.” The inspector general report acknowledged “a significant decrease in service performance for the Richmond region that continued four months after launch, even as we concluded our audit fieldwork.”

The review discovered issues at the facility, including “inadequate management and employee staffing, low employee availability, high turnover, low service performance, missed clearance times, overcrowding, and low productivity.”

Over a four-month period, the facility had three different plant managers. The audit noted that the managerial role is “the key position responsible for managing and overseeing the timely processing and dispatch of mail, improving operations, and correcting problems to achieve goals.”

The inspector general’s investigation found that workers newly placed in leadership positions “generally had not completed required training.”

“We also observed multiple instances of personnel throughout the facility not engaged with work. For example, we witnessed idle terminal handling service staff waiting for mail, and in one instance, a mail handler sleeping on a parked forklift,” the audit read. “We found a general inattention to detail that resulted in mail left on or around machines, large amounts of machinable mail in manual processing, and in one case, mail over two months old left in a container in the truck yard.”

One of the photographs of the facility’s conditions showed water-damaged mail.

The USPS plans to launch 60 regional processing centers nationwide to streamline mail delivery. However, the audit acknowledged that “it is uncertain if expected savings will be achieved” at the Richmond facility, the first RPDC. The new plant was estimated to save $15 million annually. Instead, the facility spent $5 million on non-approved and penalty overtime hours.

According to the inspector general, so far in fiscal year 2024, only 66% of first-class mail processed at the Richmond facility was delivered within two days, while the national average is 87%. Every other facility in the country is ranked 80% or higher.

The USPS released a statement in response to the audit, noting that it agreed with most of the inspector general’s 10 recommendations for improvement.

“We have undertaken extensive efforts to thoroughly address these challenges and issues in Richmond, which has led to continued performance improvement,” USPS officials said.

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) wrote on X, “Following concerning mail delays, we pushed for an investigation into the Richmond Post Office, and I’m glad to see it reveal some of the causes of delay. It’s time for USPS to work in good faith to implement the suggestions so Virginians’ mail is safely & quickly delivered.”

Warner and several other Virginia lawmakers released a bipartisan joint statement urging the USPS to implement the inspector general’s recommendations.

“It couldn’t be clearer that USPS has not been providing reliable service to Virginians, and we’ve been pressing for answers. This report pinpoints a number of issues, including a lack of coordination between USPS and staff at the Richmond Regional Processing and Distribution Center (RPDC). Going forward, USPS must provide more resources and clearer guidance to management and staff at RPDC, among other steps. We look forward to working with USPS to ensure that happens, the recommendations in the IG report are implemented, and mail delivery is timely for Virginians,” lawmakers stated.

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Congress moves to address postal carriers' safety concerns amid nationwide robbery trend



Congress will introduce new legislation Wednesday that aims to address postal carriers' safety concerns amid a nationwide robbery trend, the Associated Press reported.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), the legislation's lead sponsor in the House, will introduce the Protect Our Letter Carriers Act this week to respond to a recent uptick in robberies targeting postal workers.

TOMORROW \u27a1\ufe0f the Protect Our Letter Carriers Act will be introduced in Congress to protect letter carriers from violent crime while they are on the job. #EnoughIsEnough
— (@)

Fitzpatrick stated that the bipartisan legislation "provides resources to protect our dedicated postal service workers while making sure we are punishing criminals to the fullest extent of the law," the AP reported. If passed, it would speed up the replacement of the U.S. Postal Service's mailbox keys, known as "arrow keys," with electronic versions to deter thieves. According to the AP, the updated keys will have no value to crooks.

According to Brian Renfroe, the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, the bill would also require 93 U.S. attorneys to assign a prosecutor to pursue postal crimes. Renfroe noted that the legislation will reexamine sentencing guidelines for various postal crimes.

Renfroe addressed NALC members and supporters in Oklahoma City last month about the uptick in robberies, calling the incidents "unacceptable ... appalling ... and out of control."

"Nearly every day, we learn of another incident of violence against a letter carrier," he stated. "Targeted armed robbery, assault, shootings — and yes, even murder — has become part of our job."

According to records obtained from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and reviewed by the AP, postal carrier robberies increased 30% last year, and the number of robberies that resulted in injury doubled.

USPS spokesperson Jeff Adams told the news outlet that letter carrier robberies dropped 19% over the past five months. He noted that there has been a 73% increase in arrests for letter carrier robberies so far in fiscal year 2024.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy stated, "We have been unrelenting in our pursuit of criminals who target postal employees and the U.S. mail. The efforts of our postal inspectors and law enforcement partners have yielded positive results."

At a rally held in Jacksonville, Jim Thigpenn, the president of the USPS North Florida Branch 53, explained that the attacks on postal carriers are not random.

"Every single neighborhood [has been affected]; we've had situations where it happened on the Northside, and then a half hour later, it happened on the Westside in one day," he explained. "This is just not tied to a certain side of town or anything like that. It's more of a targeted type of situation."

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