With the election just days away, the U.S. Postal Service anticipates a delivery surge. The mail delivery service reminds voters that those who choose to mail in their ballot should do so before election day or at least a week before their election office needs to receive them. 

According to Postal Service data, the organization anticipates similar service performance to the 2020 general election. During this period, 99.89 percent of ballots mailed from voters to election officials were delivered within one week. 

Additionally, 97.9 percent of ballots mailed from voters to election officials were delivered within three days, and 99.7 percent were delivered within five days.

The Postal Service said, on average, the organization delivered ballots from election officials to voters in 2.1 days and ballots from voters to election officials in 1.6 days.

The Postal Service noted that to date, the nation's postal network is operating effectively without any major reported disruptions, adding that service performance across the nation is strong. 

In the first three weeks of October, 99.9 percent of ballots (combined: outbound from election officials to voters and inbound from voters to election officials) were delivered within a week, while the Postal Service delivered outbound ballots (to voters) in 2.0 days and 98.3 percent of inbound ballots (from voters to election officials) were delivered within 3 days.

To keep pace with the increased volume of mail, the Postal Service is deploying extraordinary measures in the final weeks of the election season. It says these measures will swiftly move ballot mail entered close to or on Election Day and/or the state's return deadline.

The Postal Service's extraordinary measures include but are not limited to:

● Extra deliveries and collections;
● Special pick-ups;
● Specialized sort plans at processing facilities to expedite delivery to boards of elections; and
● Local handling and transportation of ballots.

The measures will continue through Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 5) and extend through the last day in each state that boards of elections will accept completed mail-in ballots as timely.