A meme popping up on social media urges people to avoid shopping on Amazon Prime Day, scheduled Oct. 13 and 14. “We do not need to be overwhelming the USPS with Amazon packages when they are trying to deal with election mail. Your purchase can wait.” But is that true?
THE QUESTION:
Will Amazon Prime Day overwhelm the U.S. Postal Service just when it is also processing mail-in ballots?
THE ANSWER:
No, the Postal Service says.
WHAT WE FOUND:
Albert Ruiz, a USPS spokesman in Dallas, said, “First, it’s important to understand that packages are processed on different equipment than mail.”
Because mail and packages are handled separately, one does not slow down the other. Packages are sorted in a different area using different machines and even sorted separately in the back of a mail truck.
However, election mail “is our No. 1 priority,” Ruiz said, adding that the Postal Service is “100 percent committed” to secure, timely delivery of ballots.
“The U.S. Postal Service has the capacity to flex its nationwide processing and delivery network to meet surges in volume of mail and packages,” he said.
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