Miami-Dade postal pileup investigated, but mail ballots will arrive in time, supervisor says

MIAMI – A federal investigation of postal distribution centers is underway in Miami-Dade County after cellphone video of what appeared to be election mail piling up at a U.S. Post Office in the county went viral.

Postal inspectors are in Miami-Dade checking for any mail-in ballots in backlog as the clock ticks toward an Election Day deadline of 7 p.m. Tuesday.

As the matter is investigated, the county’s elections office says it has been ensured that all the ballots in question will get to them in time.

“The [U.S. Postal Service] assures us all ballots have been delivered,” Deputy Supervisor of Elections Suzy Trutie said Monday morning.

The concern came after state House Democratic Leader Kionne McGhee tweeted a video Friday purportedly showing election mail piled up in bins at a facility in southwest Miami-Dade.

McGee, a candidate for county commissioner in this election, worried there could be more post offices sitting on mail-in ballots, instead of delivering them to the supervisor of elections office.

“The person who sent me the video is an employee of the postal service,” McGee said. “Mail has been stacked up for almost a week.”

Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Christina White elaborated on the county’s response Monday, saying:

“As soon as we were made aware the other day of some delays of ballots within a particular postal facility, we reached out to our contacts at the post office. To their credit, we immediately had the office of inspector general visit the location. They have given us every assurance that ballots that were in the post office have been delivered to both us and the voter they were destined for and they have also assured me as late as this morning that all 67 postal facilities within Miami-Dade County and throughout the state of Florida will receive the same sweeps and all ballots will returned to our office.”

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle had urged the USPS to audit postal distribution centers.

Her office said Monday that Fernandez Rundle spoke with White and South Florida’s Special Agent in Charge of the United States Postal Inspector’s Office Antonio Gomez on Friday evening after seeing the video and that they all expressed concern.

“She believes that both agencies have begun taking the necessary steps regarding her request to do their due diligence to ensure that any mail that may be sitting in any post office in our County is being sorted and delivered forthwith,” a spokesperson for Fernandez Rundle said in an email Monday. “She had another conversation Sunday night with Special Agent Gomez who assured her that all the postal distribution centers have been checked as she requested.”

The USPS also released a statement Monday that read: “The Postal Service is aware of an online video, alleging mishandling of ballots at a Post Office in South Miami-Dade County. We have requested the involvement of the USPS Office of the Inspector General for investigation and will have no further comment until that investigation is complete.”

The Postal Inspection Service is the federal law enforcement and security arm of the U.S. Postal Service. Inspectors “have unique access to USPS facilities and regularly conduct security reviews in processing plants, business mail entry units, delivery units and post offices."

Voters are urged to check the status of their mail-in ballots as there is still time to clear up any issues. Vote-by-mail ballots must be delivered to a proper location by 7 p.m. Tuesday to be counted.

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Local 10 News reporters Christian De La Rosa and Hatzel Vela contributed to this article.