Armed guards descend on USPS as Trump's war on mail-in voting ratchets up

USPS Expands Use of Contracted Armed Security at 18 Facilities

A mail-in ballot during the Pennsylvania primary election is displayed in this illustration picture taken in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., May 19, 2026. REUTERS/Hannah Beier/Illustration/File Photo

The U.S. Postal Service plans to increase contracted armed security officers at 18 mail facilities this month, according to internal agency communications reviewed by Raw Story. The agency approved more than 12,000 hours per week of work for the officers at those sites combined, adding tens of millions of dollars in annual labor costs at a time when USPS reported $2 billion in net losses for the most recent financial quarter.

USPS has maintained contracts for private security at postal facilities for multiple years. A 2022 audit by the USPS Office of Inspector General examined the Prosegur contract and documented guards stationed at approximately 57 locations, along with background-check deficiencies at some sites. The current expansion adds coverage at 18 facilities that previously had none, according to union notifications.

The Supreme Court ruled last month that states may count mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day. President Donald Trump has sought to lift a judicial stay on an executive order that would expand USPS authority over mail-ballot eligibility determinations. James O’Rourke, emeritus professor of management at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, stated that screening mail ballots for eligibility would constitute an unprecedented federal role in election administration. O’Rourke described the security hiring as similar to the use of private firms by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Frank Albergo, president of the Postal Police Officers Association, said the union has been notified of roughly 39,000 weekly work hours approved for 972 full-time armed guards across 54 facilities. Jonathan Smith, president of the American Postal Workers Union, objected to the use of private guards who lack a postal patch and stated that some managers have used security personnel to intimidate employees. Smith said the existing law-enforcement arm of USPS should handle security needs.

The Postal Police Officers Association has been in a six-year dispute with USPS over a 2020 reinterpretation of officers’ authority that restricted them to postal properties. Albergo said the number of postal police officers has declined from more than 2,600 in the 1970s to 314 in the bargaining unit as of May 1. Officers receive 1,440 hours of training over nine months, including active-shooter response, use-of-force, and CPR/AED instruction.

A 2023 investigation by CNN and the Center for Investigative Reporting found that training and oversight standards for armed security guards vary widely by state. In California, armed guards receive authorization after 54 hours of training, 14 of which cover firearms. Fifteen states require no firearms training for armed guards. Albergo described the current arrangement as a “ticking time bomb.”

The USPS Office of Inspector General reported in May that the U.S. Postal Inspection Service had made some improvements in responding to mail theft but retained deficiencies noted in earlier audits since 2023. A Raw Story investigation published in 2024 found that letter-carrier robberies rose 543 percent over a three-year period, with some incidents involving firearms or fatalities.

A fourth death in two years occurred at the 1-million-square-foot USPS facility in Palmetto, Georgia, when employee Demarcus Little Sr., 45, suffered a medical emergency in June. The facility was approved for at least 1,344 hours per week of security-guard services in March 2024. No postal police officers are assigned there. Smith noted the absence of emergency phones and said protocol requires security personnel to respond before emergency services are contacted. Albergo said postal police officers are trained in first-responder care.

Arlus Stephens, an attorney who has represented the PPOA, described the 2020 reinterpretation of postal police authority as a means to resolve pay disputes and said USPS has pursued contracted guards instead of restoring officers’ street authority. He cited an arbitration decision that USPS has not enforced through the courts. Stephens stated that contracting out security will cost more than retaining postal police.

Privatization of USPS functions has been discussed for decades. Trump has expressed interest in the concept during both presidential terms. A memo from the chief postal inspector regarding a meeting with the now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency raised questions among some observers about future structural changes. O’Rourke said privatization could occur if it aligned with administration priorities, but he identified control over mail handling as the central concern.

USPS and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service did not respond to questions about the expanded security contracts or related policy matters.