High-speed mail sorting machine reassembled in Maine

A high-speed mail sorting machine in Maine previously ordered disassembled as part of Postmaster Louis DeJoy’s operational changes at the Postal Service this year went back into service last week.

Workers at the Southern Maine Mail Processing Center in Scarborough reassembled the machine and added it back into service last Thursday, WMTW News 8 reported, though a second machine ordered disassembled over the summer had already been sold for scrap metal.

The machine can reportedly sort up to 20,000 pieces of mail per hour. Its addition back into the processing center’s service comes as the Postal Service is set to experience a surge of mail-in ballots this fall due to the concerns brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Officials with the American Postal Workers Union reportedly lobbied for the machine to be reassembled. Union officials did not immediately return a request for comment on the news Monday evening.

DeJoy, President Trump’s appointee to lead the Postal Service, implemented operational changes aimed at cutting costs at the agency earlier this year, a move that has been blamed for delays in mail delivery nationwide ahead of a volatile election season where more ballots are expected to travel through the Postal Service than ever before.

DeJoy announced in August that he would delay changes to the Postal Service that could affect mail delivery until after the election amid bipartisan criticism over his actions, which Democrats said were aimed at helping Trump’s reelection chances.