Leaked Document Shows Timeline for Proposed Changes to NCW Postal Service in 2024
Douglas County Auditor called the plans 'a disaster' for elections in the region
Postal service customers could be waiting for mail and packages longer than they’re used to starting next year, warns postal worker Ryan Harris, who is also the president of the Washington State American Postal Workers Union.
Harris has been crossing the state on his off hours to lobby against the proposed United States Postal Service changes in North Central Washington. The plan will move mail processing for the citizens of Chelan, Douglas, Grant and Okanogan counties from Wenatchee to Spokane. That will mean customers can expect their mail service to slow by at least a day, maybe more.
“Currently all zip codes that start with 988 is processed here in Wenatchee. But now they're wanting to send that to Spokane to have it processed there and then send it back to Wenatchee,” he said. “So it would add at least one day to the service.”
He said Wenatchee currently has a two-day delivery standard, but because the region’s mail is processed here Wenatchee customers usually get their mail in one day.
“So they’re saying there’s no delay because it will be delivered within two days, but currently everybody gets above standard delivery,” he said.
Harris warns about how the slowdown will affect elections, and it’s a concern Chelan County Auditor Skip Moore and his counterpart in Douglas County share.
Douglas County Auditor Thad Duvall in a public meeting about the matter on Nov. 29 said these changes could make two major elections in 2024 a whole lot harder.
"We have a major election in February," he said. "And right on the heels of that, at the same time, we have the presidential primary in Washington state. To implement this right then, during that time when we have those two elections going on at the same time… It's going to be a disaster."
While there was a lengthy period in which the public could share their thoughts on the plan with the implication that input would be taken into account, this leaked document shows the move is proposed to begin in March and wrap up by September 2024.
And the time the USPS has allocated for the review process is just four days.