Judge Sullivan Orders Emergency USPS Ballot Sweeps, DeJoy Initially Defies Court Order

U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan issued an emergency order on Election Day directing the United States Postal Service to immediately sweep its processing facilities between 12:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. to ensure that delivery of mail-in ballots was not delayed, particularly in crucial battleground states. The order specifically targeted facilities where on-time delivery rates had fallen dramatically, mandating that postal inspectors immediately send any discovered ballots out for delivery. The Postal Service initially refused to comply with the court’s deadline, conducting sweeps hours later than ordered, prompting Judge Sullivan to demand explanations for “apparent lack of compliance.”

Context: Hundreds of Thousands of Ballots Untracked

The emergency order came after USPS data revealed severe delays in ballot processing, with tracking data showing hundreds of thousands of ballots had entered USPS facilities but had not been scanned as delivered. In some districts, on-time delivery performance had plummeted to as low as the 80% range, far below normal standards above 95%. The court order targeted fifteen USPS districts and processing centers experiencing the worst delays, including facilities in critical swing states like Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Michigan.

USPS Defiance of Court Order

Despite the explicit 3:00 p.m. deadline, USPS announced it was “unable to comply” with Judge Sullivan’s order by the mandated time. The Postal Service claimed its “established processes” for end-of-day sweeps would be “more effective” than complying with the court’s emergency directive. USPS did eventually conduct sweeps at all 220 plants processing election mail, but hours later than the judge ordered, potentially affecting whether ballots arrived by states’ Election Day deadlines. The sweeps discovered nearly 600 ballots in five USPS districts across North Carolina and Pennsylvania that had not been delivered on schedule.

Judge Sullivan Responds

Almost immediately after USPS admitted non-compliance, Judge Sullivan issued a second order calling out defendants for their “apparent lack of compliance” with his directive. During a subsequent hearing, Sullivan stated: “I would like you to explain just what the heck happened yesterday,” and suggested openness to calling Postmaster General Louis DeJoy as a witness to explain the defiance. The judge’s orders were part of litigation brought by multiple states and voting rights organizations challenging USPS operational changes that had degraded mail service before the election.

Significance

Judge Sullivan’s ballot sweep order and USPS’s initial defiance represented a constitutional crisis where a federal agency refused to comply with an explicit court order during a presidential election. DeJoy’s Postal Service prioritized its own “established processes” over a federal judge’s emergency directive designed to protect voting rights, demonstrating contempt for judicial authority. The episode revealed that even direct court intervention could not immediately reverse the damage DeJoy had inflicted on postal operations—sorting machines remained removed, overtime remained restricted, and institutional capacity had been degraded to the point where USPS couldn’t comply with emergency orders. The discovery of hundreds of undelivered ballots in swing states confirmed that USPS sabotage had real-world consequences for ballot delivery. Sullivan’s threat to call DeJoy as a witness signaled judicial frustration with executive branch election interference, though DeJoy ultimately faced no consequences for defying the court order. The incident exemplified how Trump administration officials could obstruct both congressional and judicial oversight while executing election interference.