Current:Home > InvestUSPS commits to rerouting Reno-area mail despite bipartisan pushback and mail ballot concerns -WealthSync Hub
USPS commits to rerouting Reno-area mail despite bipartisan pushback and mail ballot concerns
View
Date:2025-04-24 07:16:03
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The USPS announced on Tuesday it will follow through with its plan to reroute Reno-area mail processing to Sacramento, a move that drew bipartisan ire from Nevada lawmakers while raising questions about the rate at which mail ballots can be processed in a populous part of a crucial swing state.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has cast the permanent measure as a cost saving move, but federal, state and local lawmakers have complained about a lack of transparency in the process that could slow mail throughout the region.
Under the plan, all mail from the Reno area will pass through Sacramento before reaching its destination — even from one side of the city to the other.
Democratic Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, the state’s top election official, previously said moving operations could slow the processing of mail ballots, and “has the potential to disenfranchise thousands of Nevada voters and would unquestionably impact the results of Nevada’s elections.”
In the Tuesday statement, the USPS said “the business case” supported moving the processes to California, because most of the mail processed in Reno is destined elsewhere. The Reno facility will stay open as an area that prepares mail before it’s sent out. USPS will invest $13.4 million in the facility, mostly for renovations, per the agency.
“This plan for the Reno facility will help USPS achieve the core goals of our Delivering for America plan: financial sustainability for our organization and improved service reliability for our customers,” spokesperson Rod Spurgeon said in an emailed statement.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, who opposes the restructuring, previously told reporters that USPS officials indicated their tentative plan was to begin the rerouting in January, after the 2024 election. But in a statement Tuesday to The Associated Press, Spurgeon said there is no set date for implementation.
Lawmakers have expressed concerns that mail service can be caught in traffic delays even in the best of weather by the hour-long round trip drive over the Sierra Nevada, which lies between Reno and Sacramento. The area is also known for harsh blizzards throughout much of the year, including one in March that dumped up to 10 feet of snow and provided ammo for critics of the move.
Northern Nevada’s congressional delegation — which includes Rosen, Democratic U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei — sent a letter to USPS opposing the move and have long spoken out against it.
Other opposition came from Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo and the Washoe County Commission, which includes Reno.
In a statement following the announcement, Rosen said she was “outraged that out-of-touch Washington bureaucrats think they know what’s best for our state.”
“Let me be absolutely clear: this fight is not over,” she said in the statement. “As a member of the committee with jurisdiction over the Postal Service, I will continue to fight against this ill-advised decision and explore all available options to prevent it from being implemented.”
Lombardo said his administration, along with Nevada’s congressional delegation, will “continue to fight against mismanagement in Washington for timely and efficient mail services for Nevadans.”
___
Stern is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. Follow Stern on X, formerly Twitter: @gabestern326.
veryGood! (565)
Related
- Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
- They say don’t leave valuables in parked cars in San Francisco. Rep. Adam Schiff didn’t listen
- Atlanta Falcons make surprise pick of QB Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 in 2024 NFL draft
- American found with ammo in luggage on Turks and Caicos faces 12 years: 'Boneheaded mistake'
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- Jury in Abu Ghraib trial says it is deadlocked; judge orders deliberations to resume
- Amazon Ring customers getting $5.6 million in refunds, FTC says
- 2024 NFL draft picks: Team-by-team look at all 257 selections
- Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
- NCAA softball career home runs leader Jocelyn Alo joins Savannah Bananas baseball team
Ranking
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- Google plans to invest $2 billion to build data center in northeast Indiana, officials say
- Today's FCC's net neutrality vote affects your internet speed. We explain
- Will Messi play at Gillette Stadium? New England hosts Inter Miami: Here’s the latest
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- American arrested in Turks and Caicos after ammo found in luggage out on bail, faces June court date
- How Trump changed his stance on absentee and mail voting — which he used to blame for election fraud
- Pope Francis says of Ukraine, Gaza: A negotiated peace is better than a war without end
Recommendation
Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
17 states sue EEOC over rule giving employees abortion accommodations in Pregnant Workers act
Lakers' 11th loss in a row to Nuggets leaves them on brink of playoff elimination
At least 16 people died in California after medics injected sedatives during encounters with police
$73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
17 states sue EEOC over rule giving employees abortion accommodations in Pregnant Workers act
Elisabeth Moss reveals she broke her back on set, kept filming her new FX show ‘The Veil'
Jury in Abu Ghraib trial says it is deadlocked; judge orders deliberations to resume