Officials warn postal service problems could disrupt voting

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- Mail-in ballots for the November election are starting to go out, but state and local election officials from across the country are warning that widespread problems with the U.S. Postal Service threaten to disrupt voting. 

A bipartisan group sent a letter to the postmaster general, warning even in their primary elections this year, returned ballots postmarked on time arrived days after the deadline. They also wrote properly addressed election mail returned as undeliverable, which could automatically label voters as inactive.

"It's unacceptable," said U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt, (R-Mo.). "The people expect the mail to be delivered on time. There's plenty of time to get to the bottom of it and fix it, but it is concerning."

Schmitt said the issues highlight his reservations with mail-in voting.

"Evidence is that's where it's most ripe for fraud by the way," he said. "But I think it's always safest to vote in person. That's what I do."

Voter confidence in mail-in voting was a focus of a House committee hearing Wednesday with six secretaries of state.

"Over 80% of our ballots on average now are by mail, and that means every single one of those ballots has to be signature verified," said Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, (D-Ariz.).

Fontes said he trusts his office to confirm voters are who they say they are.

"These are the same people trained by the trainers who train the FBI," he said. 

Secretary of State Frank LaRose, (R-Ohio.), said his office is also capable of handling mailed ballots but doesn't support vote by mail for everyone.

"We don't mail out unsolicited absentee ballots, which would be a foolish idea," LaRose said. 

Voters in Ohio and Arizona can track their mail-in ballots online. According to the Movement Advancement Project, only three states don't offer that: Illinois, Missouri and Wyoming.