What is the United States Postal Service (USPS)?
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also called the Post Office or U.S. Mail, is an independent federal agency that delivers mail to every person in the country.
Since America’s founding, the USPS has connected the country by delivering letters, newspapers, and important documents like tax returns and election ballots. No matter where you live, the USPS makes sure you can send and receive mail.
That’s because of its universal service obligation. Unlike FedEx, UPS, or DHL, the USPS is required by law to deliver to every address in the country, including rural and hard-to-reach places most private companies skip.
Why was the USPS created?
Before USPS was created, sending a message across long distances was slow and often unreliable.
In 1775, one year before the Declaration of Independence was signed, the Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin as the nation’s first Postmaster General. His job was to build a new postal system for the colonies.
The purpose was clear: give the government a secure, reliable way to communicate with the public during a time of rapid change that would soon give rise to American democracy. The founders believed a new nation could not govern itself, or stay united, without a reliable way to share information. That belief would shape the postal system for decades to come.
How has the USPS evolved over time?
The USPS has continually adapted to serve the needs of our growing nation.
The Postal Clause (1787): Following independence, the Constitution granted Congress the power to “establish post offices and post roads,” emphasizing that the Postal Service is not a business, but a congressionally-mandated public obligation, meaning Congress requires it to serve every American, not to make a profit.
The Post Office Act (1792): This law established the United States Post Office as a cabinet-level department (later replaced by the USPS).
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison pushed for this law because they believed that democracy could only work if citizens stayed informed. That’s why the law made it affordable to mail newspapers, so news and political debate could reach communities across the growing country. The Act also:
- Guaranteed affordable rates for newspaper delivery
- Made it illegal to open someone else’s mail
- Required postal routes to be set by Congress, not the executive branch
These protections were not just formalities. Under British rule, postmasters used their power to favor certain newspapers and block ones they did not like. Even after independence, the Postmaster General was still chosen by the president, a political figure. By writing routes, rates, and mail privacy directly into law, Congress tried to ensure the postal system could not be turned into a political tool by whoever held the presidency.
The Postal Reorganization Act (1970): By the 1970s, the Post Office Department was in serious trouble. Outdated equipment, low pay, and a Postmaster General position that presidents handed out as a political reward, not based on who was most qualified, had worn the system down.
In 1970, roughly 200,000 postal workers organized the largest strike in the history of the Postal Service, walking off the job over pay and working conditions.
The strike pushed Congress to act. The Postal Reorganization Act ended the Post Office Department’s status as a cabinet-level agency run by a political appointee and created the USPS as we know today, an independent, self-governed agency that funds its own day-to-day operations through stamps and services, rather than depending on Congress for money.
For the first time, the Postmaster General was protected from direct political control, closing a loophole the founders had tried to close back in 1792.
Innovation and Technology: As technology advanced, so did the USPS. Over time, the agency modernized its operations, introducing innovations that made mail processing and delivery faster and more efficient, including:
- Expanding railway mail service in the 1860s, speeding up long-distance delivery.
- Introducing the nation’s first airmail route in 1918.
- Adopting advanced letter sorting machines, followed by optical character recognition and handwriting recognition technology, to read addresses automatically.
- Introducing ZIP codes in 1963, making sorting faster and more accurate and transforming how Americans send and receive mail.
- Launching Informed Delivery in 2017, a free tool that lets you preview your incoming mail online before it arrives. This tool is now used by more than 74 million people.
- Deploying tens of thousands of electric delivery vehicles, creating the largest electric delivery fleet in the country.
How has USPS supported the public?
- Universal Service: Because of its universal service obligation, USPS is the only mail service that delivers to every address in the country, including rural areas that private carriers often skip. Today, it delivers to over 169 million homes, businesses, and other delivery points.
- Employment: USPS is one of the largest employers in the United States, providing over 600,000 union jobs. It also has a long history of hiring veterans, nearly 100,000 of whom currently work for the agency.
- Crisis Response: USPS plays a formal role in responding to national emergencies. In the 1800s, it helped distribute lifesaving smallpox vaccines. After Hurricane Katrina, it helped survivors update their addresses so they could stay connected to family, benefits, and mail. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it delivered prescriptions, stimulus payments, test kits, and protective equipment to millions of Americans. As more people stayed home and shopped online, it also handled a significant share of the nation’s package and grocery deliveries.
- Trust & Reliability: Because of its reach, reliability, and public service, the USPS is consistently ranked among the most trusted federal agencies. Through rain, sleet, and snow, it delivers more mail per person every day than most countries deliver in a month.
How is the USPS funded?
USPS relies almost entirely on revenue from stamps, products, and other service fees, not tax dollars. Congress does provide one small yearly payment, currently under $75 million, to cover the cost of free mail service for blind Americans and overseas voters. That amount is less than half a percent of USPS’s total revenue.
Financial Struggles
The rise of email and digital communication has cut into USPS’s revenue for years. Operating expenses have outpaced revenue since 2007, though the USPS still generates enough money to cover its day-to-day functions. Much of the reported losses come from providing pension and retirement benefits to its workforce.
In March 2026, Postmaster General David Steiner testified before Congress about these financial challenges. He explained that USPS is on track to run out of the money to pay its workers and vendors within roughly a year, raising concerns that mail deliveries could be disrupted or halted.
The Privatization Debate
Some have suggested privatizing USPS (turning it into a private company) to address the agency’s financial struggles and increase profitability. But many argue that USPS’s role as a federal agency with a universal service obligation is foundational to American democracy.
Critics warn that privatization would also weaken worker protections, resulting in lower pay, reduced benefits, and less job security for many workers. It could also shift USPS away from serving the public and cause rural communities and small businesses to face higher costs and less reliable mail service.
Despite these financial struggles, USPS continues to innovate and serve the public, proving that its mission is just as essential as it was at its founding.
What role does the USPS play in elections?
USPS classifies any item mailed to or from authorized election officials that helps citizens participate in voting as Election Mail. This includes voter registration cards, absentee ballot applications, ballots, and polling place notifications.
History of Voting by Mail
Voting by mail began during the Civil War so soldiers could vote while away from home. Since then, USPS has been critical to delivering election materials. Today, eight states and the District of Columbia conduct elections entirely by mail, relying on USPS to make sure ballots reach every eligible voter on time.
Mail voting is especially important to people with disabilities, students away at college, rural residents, and senior citizens. Over 48 million voters cast their ballots by mail in 2024.
Restrictions on Voting by Mail
In recent years, some states have introduced measures restricting mail-in voting. For example, in 2025, Utah passed a bill making major changes to its mail voting program. The law removed a grace period for postmarked ballots that arrive after Election Day. It also ended the state’s universal mail voting program, so starting in 2029 voters must request a ballot instead of automatically receiving one in the mail.
Efforts have also been made at the federal level. In March 2026, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing USPS to have its employees review ballot envelope designs and deliver absentee ballots only to voters on a federally approved list. Experts argue the order exceeds presidential authority, since the Constitution gives states, not the President, control over election administration. Many also warn that involving USPS in determining voter eligibility would politicize the agency and undermine public trust in both the mail system and the electoral process.
The order was challenged in court. In June 2026, a federal judge blocked parts of the executive order in the 23 states (and the District of Columbia) that sued. That means the federal government cannot use the order to change how those states handle voter registration or mail-in voting, and USPS must keep delivering mail ballots as it did before. In the remaining states, the ruling does not apply, so the order’s effect may differ from state to state while the case continues.
Despite efforts to restrict mail voting, the USPS has a long-standing, well tested process for handling election mail and delivering it on time.
What is a postmark, and how has the USPS postmark process changed?
A postmark is an official marking showing the date and location where the post office received a piece of mail.
Postmarks are applied by machines at processing facilities, or sometimes by hand. They matter for official mail, like tax returns, legal documents, and election mail because they serve as proof that the time-sensitive item was mailed on time.
For decades, a postmark usually reflected the day the mail was dropped into a USPS mailbox, left at a post office counter, or handed to a postal worker to be delivered. That changed in December 2025, when USPS updated its postmarking language, redefining a postmark as the date a mail item is processed, not the date it is dropped off or received by USPS.
USPS said the update “does not change any existing postal operations or postmarking practices.” But it also said changes to how mail is transported mean a piece of mail may no longer be postmarked the same day it is collected. In practice, that means a postmark can now reflect a date that is days after a person actually mailed something.
How are postmarks used in elections?
When returning a ballot by mail, your state may have a “postmarked by” deadline, meaning your ballot must have a postmark dated on or before a specific day, usually Election Day. Election officials use the postmark as proof that you mailed your ballot on time.
In 14 states and the District of Columbia, ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day, or they may be considered late.
In the past, voters could expect their ballots to be postmarked the same day they dropped them off. But because of the December 2025 changes to postmarking rules, there is now more time between when a ballot is first dropped off and when it actually gets postmarked. That delay could decide whether a vote is counted or rejected.
How do the recent USPS rule changes affect your election mail?
People who live more than 50 miles from a postal processing facility have been hit the hardest, affecting nearly 149 million Americans across 70% of U.S. ZIP codes.
As a result, voters mailing in ballots or paper voter registration applications must allow extra time for processing. That leaves less time to fill out and send in these documents.
Voters can request a manual postmark to make sure their ballot counts, but that means visiting a local post office in person during business hours, which can be difficult for many individuals, particularly in rural areas.
Beyond elections, the new postmark process could also lead to late fees or penalties for other time-sensitive documents.
What steps can I take to ensure my ballot gets counted?
- Return your ballot as soon as possible: USPS recommends mailing your ballot at least 7 days before the deadline.
- Get a “hand-stamped” postmark: If you’re mailing close to the deadline, visit your local post office and ask for the envelope to be hand-stamped, so the postmark reflects the day you dropped it off.
- Request your ballot early: Request your absentee ballot well before Election Day.
- Track your ballot: Many states let voters track their ballots online to confirm they arrived on time.
- Know your deadline: Check your state’s mail-in ballot deadlines so you know exactly when your ballot must be postmarked or received.
How can I support the USPS?
Supporting the USPS helps protect reliable mail delivery, access to important services, and the delivery of election mail for millions of voters across the country.
You can support the USPS by using its services, buying stamps, staying informed about postal policy changes, and contacting your elected officials to let them know you want the Postal Service protected.
USPS has connected this country since before it was a country, from carrying the newspapers that informed early voters to delivering ballots today. Protecting it means protecting something that has helped hold American democracy together for more than 250 years.
To learn more about your voting options and how to submit your mail-in ballot, check out our Voting by Mail Explainer.
Published July 24, 2026.