Post Office will play critical role in election

First Class Importance Northville Post Office will play critical role this election

By Maria Taylor

Delays, overhauls, and pandemic-related shutdowns have put the US Postal Service in the national spotlight. On the local level, Northville’s downtown post office is not without controversy of its own. Last fall, USPS officials announced that the post office had outgrown its space at 200 South Wing Street and was going to relocate. In a February 2020 letter to Congresswoman Haley Stevens, USPS said it had picked a new site a half-mile away — but didn’t say where.

Then, the pandemic hit. Like everyone else across southeast Michigan, Northville area residents started seeing their mail carriers less and less — even as the biggest election in four years draws near.

USPS SHAKEUP

Stevens said her office has been getting calls from people whose mail has been late.

“The post office is a literal lifeline for countless people who rely on it to receive prescription medications, for small businesses to ship to their customers, for seniors to receive Social Security checks, to do their taxes, pay their bills, and so much more,” she said. “As the election approaches, certainly people are looking to the post office, as they have always looked to the post office, to deliver critical resources.”

Stevens feels that recent USPS management decisions have only inflamed pandemic-related slowdowns.

“What we’re seeing is a ricocheting effect,” she said. “The Postal Service is running at what they call Christmas levels of mail. Right now is not the time to be putting into place institutional reforms that strip away processing machines.”

Stevens said she is working on “making sure that we have a functional post office now and into November.” In late August, she voted for the Delivering for America Act, a bipartisan bill which (if signed into law) would prohibit USPS from implementing changes to levels of service for the duration of the coronavirus crisis or through January 2021, as well as provide funding for USPS operations.

Closer to home, Northville officials are still waiting to hear what’s next for the local post office.

“At this point, there has not been further communications at the federal level about the post office next steps,” said Northville Mayor Brian Turnbull. “They have not made any arrangements with any landlord, to our knowledge.”

The radio silence has sparked rumors

A voter uses the drop box at Northville City Hall. that federal USPS changes will be used as a ploy to close the Northville post office. Turnbull shot that down.

“That’s not the way it’s going to be,” he said.

Northville residents can be sure of one thing: The post office will still be in place, in its current location, for the election in November.

“Obviously, USPS is an inherently important part of elections,” said Northville Township Clerk Marjorie Banner. “They deliver all our ballots, so we rely on them to be timely and efficient at their job.”

And if the presidential primary in August was any indication, more voters than ever will be following a long American tradition of voting by mail.

VOTING AT HOME

Voter data from the local clerk’s offices show a clear trend: Northville and Northville Township residents are choosing to vote at their kitchen tables rather than at the polls.

In the 2016 primary in the City of Northville, 27% of total votes were cast by absentee ballot. In the primary last month, it was up to 51% — meaning the majority of city voters chose to vote absentee. The number of absentee ballots almost doubled, from 662 in August 2016 to 1,307 in August 2020.

In Northville Township, the number was even higher. Of the 10,750 ballots cast in the August Primary Election, 8,284 were absentee.

For the November election, Northville City Clerk Dianne Massa expects about 75% of the total votes cast in Northville will be absentee — a huge jump from the last presidential election, which had just 35% of Northville voters choosing absentee. Meanwhile, as of early September, Northville Township was inching toward 12,000 absentee ballot applications, which is “almost twice as many” as normal, Banner reported.

And that’s despite political rhetoric claiming that while “absentee” voting is safe, “mail-in” voting leads to voter fraud. Massa’s fact-check didn’t take long.

“They’re the same,” she said — and those familiar with the voting process, from national experts to local clerks, agree that allegations of widespread absentee voter fraud are unfounded.

Banner encouraged voters to continue voting absentee.

“In Northville Township, we feel it’s safe, secure, and people’s votes do get counted,” she said. “We count every absentee ballot as long as they reach us by 8 p.m. on Election Day. I encourage [Northville Township residents] to make use of that, especially in these times of COVID.”

DELIVERY DELAYS

Poll workers tend to view the primary election as a test drive for the general, and in the August election, Massa said some voters saw delivery issues by USPS.

“Some experienced longer delivery times,

Voters can drop their absentee ballots either in the mail or the drop box at township hall.

In Northville Township, we feel it’s safe, secure, and people’s votes do get counted. We count every absentee ballot as long as they reach us by 8 p.m. on Election Day. I encourage voters to make use of that, especially in these times of COVID.”

Margie Banner Northville Township Clerk

especially for ballots mailed out of state,” she said. “The Northville postmaster works with my office to help resolve any issues to make sure ballots get delivered.”

Only two ballots were delivered to Massa’s office after Election Day, and she said that’s consistent with previous elections. She is, however, concerned about mail delays in November. She and other clerks are encouraging voters to send in their absentee ballot applications early, and to return their ballot straight to the City Hall drop box.

“Please apply for your ballot early, especially if your ballot has to be mailed,” she said. “If you cannot take advantage of returning your ballot using the City Hall drop boxes, get it in the mail quickly. Returning your ballot early is appreciated so the Clerk’s office can get it checked in and ready for processing on Election Day.”

Drop boxes can be used for ballots as well as ballot applications. Northville has a drop box in the City Hall 24-hour vestibule and a new drive-up drop box in the circular City Hall drive. Northville Township Hall has a 24-hour drop box in the bill payment area.

“We had a large number of people drop them off for the August election. They made use of that drop box frequently,” said Banner. “But obviously, we expect a lot of them to come in through the mail.”

Banner said that while the Northville Township Clerk’s office did experience some mail-related problems, she was able to correct them and get the ballots out.

“And if people did not receive them, we were able to reject the ballot that was sent, that they did not receive, and reissue them a new one,” she said. “So I don’t think anyone went without a ballot if they wanted it.

“We had a handful that came in afterwards, but some of them were stamped the day before,” she continued. “I don’t think that’s the post office’s fault; I think maybe that’s human error. I would encourage voters to get their ballot voted right away, and send it back or drop it off ASAP rather than waiting until the end.”

Voters can go to www.michigan.gov/vote to track the status of their ballot, including verifying when their ballot was received by the Clerk’s office.

When it comes to USPS, Banner is less concerned for the November 3 election than she was for August.

“I don’t envision a bigger problem this time — maybe even less of a problem,” she said, “because I think the post office is trying hard to make it right.”

VOTING ABSENTEE

If you are considering voting absentee this November, you need to contact your local Clerk’s Office.

Northville Township: Call (248) 348- 5825, email Clerk@twp.northville.mi.us or visit www.twp.northville.mi.us

City of Northville: Call (248) 349-1300, email dmassa@ci.northville.mi.us or visit www.ci.northville.mi.us/services/city_clerk