US postal workers accused of stealing mail & real impact on election processes

General problem of increasing mail theft by USPS workers
The following article is of great interest and should lead all of us to have concern for the overall security of our postal system.
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/investigations/postal-worker-mail-theft-stolen/3674589/

Bottom line: our mail system is becoming increasingly less secure.

Mail theft materially impacted the election process in Mesa County, CO
Here is an example of the mail theft problem manifesting in Colorado’s election process, in this case in Mesa County, CO. I’ve referenced two separate articles to help complete the picture of what happened.

An early report describing the discovery of mail theft and ballot fraud in Mesa County:
https://kdvr.com/news/colorado/mesa-county-stolen-ballots-2024-election/ (Oct 24)

It should be noted that three ballots got through the signature verification process and were irrevocably counted before election workers realized there was an issue. The implications must not be ignored: three of twelve ballots got through signature verification (a 25% error rate).

A report on the arrests of individuals involved in this mail theft/ballot fraud incident, including a USPS worker:
https://kdvr.com/news/politics/colorado-politics-news/2-arrested-in-stolen-mesa-county-ballots-investigation-including-usps-mail-carrier/ (Nov 6)

A question that comes to mind is, “how many such incidents go undiscovered?”

Final thoughts
In my opinion, the USPS handling of ballots represents a serious weak link in Colorado’s election process, and that of any state that relies heavily on mail ballots. It injects a serious vulnerability into an otherwise decent ballot chain of custody, becoming more significant with the general increase of mail theft by USPS workers. Begs the question, “How can Colorado best mitigate this vulnerability to secure our election processes?”

Dave Cuyler, Vice Chair Archuleta County Republican Central Committee
Pagosa Springs, CO
vch.acrcc@proton.me
505-288-8520

“One of the penalties of not participating in politics is that you will be governed by your inferiors.” – Plato 429-347 BC