UPS, FedEx Say They Don't Have Legal Status To Deliver Postal Ballots

Aniket Chatterjee
Updated ·2 min read

What Happened: United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) and FedEx (NYSE: FDX) shot down social media calls stating they are unable to step in for the delivery of mail-in-ballots as they are not legally authorized to postmark the ballots, Reuters reported on Friday.

UPS informed Reuters that state ballots require postmarking for validation and the United States Postal Service (USPS) is the only agency that has lawful postmarking status. Thus all private entities like UPS, FedEx and others cannot be technically involved in the process.

FedEx responded by saying it's accepting individual ballots but advises voters to be familiar with the state guidelines while using FedEx to return their election-related documents.

See Also: Trump's Battle Over US Postal Service Funding: What You Need To Know

Why It’s Important: The USPS, on the other hand, has warned the states in writing that mail-in votes may not arrive in time for the counting process of the presidential election.

“Certain deadline... are incongruous with the postal service’s delivery standards,” the agency said.

It's expected that a large section of the voters would opt for mail-in voting due to the ongoing pandemic. But on Thursday, President Donald Trump opposed providing funds to the already struggling Postal Service to help with the election issues.

What Next: It's widely reported that President Trump is opposed to mail-in voting. He feels it would boost the chances of his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, in the election.

People on social media, therefore, were urging companies UPS and FedEx to step in and sort out the problems relating to mail-in voting. But experts believe it would not be easy for private entities to bypass the existing rules and regulations and assist the USPS in the delivery of postal ballots.

See more from Benzinga

© 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.