NBC News has a breaking news report that it obtained a memo from the US Postal Service that it will dismantle and remove 671 automated mail sorting machines around the country prior to the November election.
This year’s election is expected to have more ballots cast by mail than any election in US history. The machines are capable of sorting 35,000 pieces of mail per hour, work that will now have to be done by fewer automated machine and more manual labor.
Asked for comment, a Postal Service spokesman said that the dismantling of the machines is part of the normal course of business and that the machines will be reallocated to other areas.
The memo obtained by NBC, however, shows the post office locations that were told to remove their equipment, but it does not show any other locations where the machines should be shipped or reassigned.