MONTPELIER — Already challenged by the lack of a local post office since last summer’s flooding, Montpelier area residents were hit by yet another setback when a popular mail carrier recently retired after four decades on the job.
Not only did residents and businesses stop receiving their mail, they say there was no place to turn to ask where they might find it.
“We just need a physical location, that’s the real problem. I know they’re trying to work to get a carrier, but it’s the lack of response and no clear plan or solution to the problem. That’s the real issue,” said Susan Becker, a resident of Elm Street.
As of last week, Becker calculated that she was missing 18 pieces of mail and had a delivery only three times in the previous three weeks.
East Montpelier resident Sherwood Morse, who is 83 years old, also lives on the retired carrier’s route and is receiving his mail sporadically.
“My wife had to come up with a list of people we have bills from that were due at the end of the month. I had to research to find out who we should be getting bills from and I had to call these companies,” Morse said. “We’d be in trouble if we didn’t pay our bills, but they’re not coming.”
And it is not just bills. Like many others, Morse’s wife receives her medication by mail, a service that is becoming increasingly unreliable.
The state’s capital has been without a post office since July’s flooding closed the federally owned building on State Street. During that time, Vermont’s congressional delegation has repeatedly asked and most recently rallied for the reopening of Montpelier’s post office, but to no avail.
With primary elections and Town Meeting Day nearing on March 5, the spotty service and lack of a post office will not only affect regular mail, but could also affect voting access.
“We continue to be surprised and disappointed that the US Postal Service has not set up a functioning post office in Montpelier,” Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas said via email. “We share others’ concerns about the lack of a post office affecting voters’ ability to get mail ballots back in time. Our advice to voters is to have a voting plan.”
Copeland Hanzas said those who plan to vote early by mail should request a ballot now and turn it around quickly. Montpelier residents should take advantage of the drop box at city hall or drop their ballot directly at the city clerk’s office, she said.
But the problem is not limited to Montpelier. Montpelier’s closed post office also served parts of other towns, including Middlesex and East Montpelier. With five weeks to go before the election, clerks in those neighboring towns are gearing up for potential problems.
“Let’s say some towns, you know, served by their own post offices, they’re gonna get their ballots, but then other people in Middlesex won’t ever get their ballots,” Sarah Merriman, town clerk of Middlesex, said in an interview. “It’s just gonna be a lot of voter confusion, that’s my concern.”
Last Town Meeting Day, 30% of those who voted in Montpelier submitted a mail-in ballot, according to City Clerk John Odum. In an interview, he said that he is “tense” about the situation but not panicking yet, as it remains too early to see if there will be a problem.
“The truth is, in Montpelier, with only a handful of folks who are receiving that mail weekly instead of daily, it’s probably going to be very hard for us to tell other than anecdotally that there’s a problem, and that’s, that’s concerning,” Odum said.
With deadlines to receive and return ballots, election officials, including Odum, advised people to watch for their ballots and reach out if they have not received them in a timely manner.
“It just makes a tight deadline that much tighter,” Odum said.
While Montpelier voters are required to request mail-in ballots for early voting, all voters in East Montpelier will be sent ballots via mail this year, which prompted the town clerk, Rosie Laquerre, to reach out to East Montpelier’s postmaster.
“He assured me that there will not be any delays for our ballots,” Laquerre said, as the mail will be specifically marked as election mail and prioritized. “It is required that it go out and be delivered the same day it comes in,” she said.
If ballots do not arrive on time, residents will still be able to vote at the town clerk’s offices.
“We have the failsafe that the polls are open all day. So if somebody doesn’t get their ballot in time to do early voting, then they’re certainly able to either call the town clerk’s office, come to the town clerk’s office to get another mailing packet or go to the polls on Town Meeting Day itself and vote,” Laquerre said.
According to Stephen Doherty, a spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service based in Boston, there are currently no updates on the status of Montpelier’s post office, but he said he expects “an announcement” early next week.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated Sherwood Morse’s town of residence.
