Despite USPS Challenges, State Officials Remain Confident In NC Mail-In Ballots

WUNC | By Stacia Brown,

Published August 21, 2020 at 12:26 PM EDT

State officials have been preparing for a major spike in mail-in ballots since the initial COVID-19 lockdown in March. North Carolina will be the first state in the country to start sending out mail-in ballots this year on Sept. 4, and election officials are prepared to pre-process votes received by mail.

However, voters are still concerned about the security and reliability of the process in light of recent reports of postal issues, including the dismantling of mail sorting machines and the removal of mailboxes from their locations. Host Frank Stasio talks to WUNC political reporter Rusty Jacobs about his coverage of the state’s mail-in ballot prep. U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, D-Charlotte joins the conversation to share her concerns about Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s changes to the USPS and why she and some of her constituents are protesting in Charlotte.

Tags

Stacia Brown

Stacia L. Brown is a writer and audio storyteller who has worked in public media since 2016, when she partnered with the Association of Independents in Radio and Baltimore's WEAA 88.9 to create The Rise of Charm City, a narrative podcast that centered community oral histories. She has worked for WAMU’s daily news radio program, 1A, as well as WUNC’s The State of Things. Stacia was a producer for WUNC's award-winning series, Great Grief with Nnenna Freelon and a co-creator of the station's first children's literacy podcast, The Story Stables. She served as a senior producer for two Ten Percent Happier podcasts, Childproof and More Than a Feeling. In early 2023, she was interim executive producer for WNYC’s The Takeaway.

See stories by Stacia Brown

Frank Stasio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.

See stories by Frank Stasio