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.

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 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.

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.

RICHMOND, Va. Virginia lawmakers gave final approval Friday to legislation aimed at making absentee voting easier in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, including having the state prepay postage and provide drop boxes for absentee ballots. Northam, a Democrat, had urged lawmakers to move quickly to approve additional funding for absentee voting, with the presidential election just two months away. States around the country are expecting a big increase in voting by mail because of the ongoing health threat from the coronavirus. Democrats have argued that the pandemic calls for unprecedented action to ensure voting is as easy as possible for every eligible voter. The legislation requires that cities and counties provide the prepaid postage for voters to mail in their absentee ballots, but they will be reimbursed by the state Department of Elections.

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. Pelosi said she told Meadows the Democrats would be willing to meet halfway at $2.2 trillion a slight reduction from her last proposal before talks collapsed earlier this month. We have said again and again that were willing to meet them in the middle $2.2 trillion. When theyre willing to do that, well be willing to discuss the particulars, Pelosi told reporters at the Capitol. House Democrats' opening bid was the $3 trillion-plus Heroes Act, a sweeping aid package approved in May.

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.

Substantive change to voter access in multiple states all at once is rare, but this year, officials have pushed to make mail voting easier to help protect people from the coronavirus. Democrats say they’re trying to make sure every vote counts, and voting rights advocates are raising the alarm that the expansion of existing absentee and mail voting systems could create widespread disenfranchisement and discrimination unless done correctly. Much of voting rights advocates' litigation is aimed at lowering the absentee ballot rejection rates that have skyrocketed during the primaries. The flaw in each of those amendments is that it delegates administration to the states.”And in that administration, advocates and academics alike see discriminatory effects in mail voting systems. Here’s what’s at the heart of the suits, and what could change about the rules surrounding vote by mail.

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.

DANVILLE, Va. - (AP) - A Virginia neighborhood had its mail service disrupted for about three weeks after a Yorkshire terrier bit a postal carrier. The Danville Register and Bee reports that the neighborhood is one of two in Danville to have mail service disrupted recently because of dog bites. The second neighborhood had service suspended because carriers were being chased by a pit bull. A Postal Service spokesman said action was necessary to prevent carriers from being attacked; mail carriers in Virginia were bitten by dogs 153 times in 2018 and 143 times in 2017. Home delivery in the neighborhood with the Yorkie resumed when the dog's owner installed a curbside mailbox and put up a fence.