New report by Sen. Gary Peters finds metro Detroit had the worst on-time mail delivery in the country following USPS cuts

If you're waiting on that birthday card from grandma, you may have to wait longer.

A new report by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters found that metro Detroit actually had the worst timely mail delivery rate of any district in the country during the first week of October — a rate that has been steadily declining since September, The Detroit News reports.

During the summer, when shit was really bad, close to 85% of all mail in the Detroit area was delivered on time — and that was before the Postal Service suffered budget cuts. But the first week of October, just 71% of all mail was delivered on time, making it one of the worst reported rates in any district in the country. It also marked the fourth week in a row that the Detroit District experienced a decline in on-time deliveries.

The rest of Michigan, however, hasn't reported as significant delays as the Detroit area. Using data for the first week of October, Michigan saw an overall decline of on-time delivery by just 0.5%, with 86% of first-class mail being delivered within one-five days.

And Detroit isn't alone. Districts in Baltimore, Mississippi, Philadelphia, Alabama, and Washington, D.C., have all experienced on-time declines, many of which fell below 80%.

In August, Peters — the incumbent Democrat who is running against Republican challenger John James — called upon colleagues to demand answers and solutions from Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who instituted operational changes in post offices and processing centers. Some changes included the “elimination of extra mail transportation trips, reduction of overtime, the start of a pilot program for mail sorting and delivery policies at hundreds of post offices, and the reductions of equipment at processing plants.”

“As Postmaster General, you should not make changes that will slow down mail or compromise service for veterans, small businesses, rural communities, seniors, and millions of Americans who rely on the mail for medicines, essential goods, voting, correspondence, and for their livelihoods,” Peters said in August.

He addressed DeJoy again this week, demanding he “take all necessary actions to reverse mounting mail delivery delays,” as it has the potential to affect mail-in ballots for the Nov. 3 election.

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