Postmaster General Louis DeJoy says he’ll work with state election officials to address concerns about mail-in ballots after they warned of persistent problems during the primary season.

Election officials across the U.S. are warning that problems with the nation’s mail delivery system threaten to disenfranchise voters in the upcoming presidential election.

On Friday, the US Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Attorney's Office, and Federal Bureau of Investigation spoke at a news conference in Tampa about the effort to protect postal carriers and keep mail secure.

Congress has passed legislation that would shore up the U.S. Postal Service.

Miranda Delee Farleigh, 25, was arrested in November after being indicted in federal court last month.

The U.S. Postal Service says it has cleared the final regulatory hurdle to placing orders for next-generation mail vehicles.

Two widely supported bills are encountering delays in the Senate.

U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence says she plans to retire from Congress at the end of her term, becoming the 25th House Democrat to decide against seeking reelection in 2022.

President Joe Biden’s nominees to the governing board of the U.S. Postal Service are pledging to rebuild trust with the American public and ensure prompt deliveries.

Postal Service is saying out with the old and in with the new when it comes to their delivery trucks. USPS showed off their new wheels Wednesday and announced that it will be getting the “next-generation delivery vehicle” or NGDV if the name is too long to say. The new NGDV will have a low engine compartment, a very high windshield, backup cameras and blind-spot detectors. “The vehicle award is part of a 10-year plan to improve customer service, achieve financial stability and better support the postal workforce,” the postal service added. The major upgrade though is airbags and air conditioning, which weren’t in previous mail trucks.

Postal officials have repeatedly said the agency has more than enough capacity to handle the surge of ballots this fall, and its leaders have committed to prioritizing election mail. On top of that, each state has different rules on whether it accepts mail ballots that arrive after Election Day. Then, not too long after DeJoy took over, Trump openly admitted he was starving the Postal Service of coronavirus relief money to make it harder for the agency to process ballots. The Postal Service agreed Wednesday to reverse changes that had slowed mail service nationwide, settling a lawsuit filed by Montana Gov. AP’s Advance Voting guide brings you the facts about voting early, by mail or absentee from each state: https://interactives.ap.org/advance-voting-2020.

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Seminole County Elections Supervisor Chris Anderson said when mail-in ballots were mailed-out to voters before the August primary election, not all voters received them. “We had an unusually high number of ballots, voters who were needing replacements,” Anderson said. "The Postal Service’s number one priority between now and Election Day is the secure, on-time delivery of the nation’s Election Mail. We employ a robust process to ensure proper handling of all Election Mail, including ballots. For information about how the Postal Service is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, please see: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/covid-19/,” the statement read.

He said it was "to avoid even the appearance of impact on election mail." Federal judges have since ordered the Postal Service to halt all changes, although the agency said it is exploring its legal options. On-time delivery in northern Ohio, which includes Cleveland, dipped to as low as 63% in July before rising to 88% by the end of August. On-time delivery declined to as low as 79% for the Philadelphia area and to 67% for the central part of the state. Earlier this year, the Philadelphia district averaged 84.5% on-time delivery, according to the quarterly data.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. The Postal Service in Central Florida is set to hire 1,000 employees in Central Florida. USPS said successful applicants will work at one of seven mail processing and distribution centers from Nov. 7 through Jan. 1. The openings include:Mail Processing Clerk pays $18.15 an hourMail Handler Assistant pays $16.55 an hourUSPS said positions are open in:Fort MyersMid Florida (Lake Mary)OrlandoSeminoleManasotaTampaYborPositions will also be available at annexes in Lakeland, Melbourne, and Tampa, according to the USPS. Anyone interested in applying can click on this link, applications for the positions listed above we be from Sept. 8 through Sept. 12.

Democrats have been pushing for increased oversight of the Postal Service following DeJoy's operational changes and Trump's baseless claims that mail-in voting will lead to widespread fraud. A spokesman for the Postal Service said the agency will comply with its legal obligations. Separately, an audit from the inspector general of the Postal Service found that more than a million mail-in ballots were sent to voters late during the primary elections. Also, an analysis of political and election mail in seven Postal Service processing centers between April and June identified around 1.6 million mailpieces that were not delivered on time. We can, and will, handle the volume of election mail we receive," DeJoy told the House Oversight committee last week.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. We have said again and again that were willing to meet them in the middle $2.2 trillion. House Democrats opening bid was the $3 trillion-plus Heroes Act, a sweeping aid package approved in May that includes another round of $1,200 direct payments to Americans. But he acknowledged Thursday that talks are in a stalemate.McConnell, R-Ky. said he remained hopeful for a deal. She had earlier shaved $1 trillion off the Heroes Act, to $2.4 trillion, in the first round of talks.

Acknowledging an expected surge in mail-in ballots because of the coronavirus pandemic, DeJoy says voters should mail back their ballots at least seven days prior to the election. Trump urged a no vote, railing on Twitter against mail-in ballots expected to surge in the COVID-19 crisis. He has said he wants to block extra funds to the Postal Service. Still, there were signs of bipartisan support for the Postal Service, one of the most popular government agencies with an approval rating above 90%. Twenty-six House Republicans broke with Trump and GOP leaders to back the House bill, which passed 257-150.

WASHINGTON Senate Republican leaders are preparing a slimmed-down virus relief package of roughly $500 billion that will include extended payments for unemployed people and smaller businesses, a GOP senator said Tuesday. Negotiations over a far larger coronavirus relief bill are expected to resume after Labor Day between the White House and top congressional Democrats. Democrats want to continue the added $600 in payments, but Trump and congressional Republicans have pushed for less. A second GOP Senate aide said the new proposal includes $105 billion for education. The Democratic-led House approved a $3 trillion relief plan in May, while Senate Republicans offered a $1 trillion package.

N.C. Mail deliveries could be delayed by a day or more under cost-cutting efforts being imposed by the new postmaster general, DeJoy. (Kim Walker/Elon University via AP, File)WASHINGTON Mail deliveries could be delayed by a day or more under cost-cutting efforts being imposed by the new postmaster general. If postal distribution centers are running late, "they will keep the mail for the next day,'' Postal Service leaders say in a document obtained by The Associated Press. The COVID-19 pandemic has put the Postal Service in a double crisis, said Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union, which represents more than 200,000 postal workers and retirees. For most Americans, mail deliveries to homes or post boxes are their only routine contact with the federal government.