Oregon Public Broadcasting

Plans to do away with Saturday mail delivery aren't sitting well with Northwest Secretaries of State.

Oregon's Kate Brown testified in D.C. Tuesday against the cost-cutting proposal. She told the Postal Regulatory Commission that ending Saturday mail pick-ups would throw a wrench into Oregon's vote-by-mail system.

The U.S. Postal Service is bleeding red ink and one way the agency wants to save money is by parking mail trucks on Saturdays.

Oregon elections officials say that would potentially disenfranchise people who wait until the last minute to vote.

In Oregon, ballots must arrive at county offices on or before Election Day in order to count. Voters can drop ballots off at designated sites.

But Oregon Deputy Secretary of State Barry Pack says rural voters often donít have convenient access to ballot drop-off locations.

Barry Pack: "Those voters tend to rely more heavily on the mail, and removing one day of delivery just prior to Election Day is one less day they have to depend on the mail service to get their ballots in."

Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed is also concerned about possibly losing Saturday mail delivery, according to a spokesman.

All of Washington uses vote-by-mail exclusively except Pierce County, which includes Tacoma.