Reference no: EM133093212

What positive externalities does USPS produce, and how has the value of these externalities changed over time? Respond to the discuss below:

An example that represented this is mail-in voting ballets. The actual act of delivering the mail to its intended destination is not unforeseen or unintended being that this is a basic function of the postal service; however, by doing this, the unrelated piece is enabling those who are not able to travel to polling locations to still exercise their right to vote. According to the 2020 Post-Election Analysis, the percent of ballots delivered from voters to election officials within 7 days was 99.89%, within 5 days was 99.7%, and within 3 days was 97.9%. There may have been some controversy surrounding mail-in ballots in the 2020 election, but according to this analysis, the USPS did a good job.

How has this changed over time? Nationally, the number of mail-in voters nearly doubled from 2004 to 2016. Mail-in voting rates have varied dramatically across states, largely dependent on the state's voting system and the ease with which individuals can cast a mail-in ballot in the state. A record 159 million voters cast ballots in the 2020 general election which was 22 million more than in 2016. The pandemic likely played a role in the significant increase; however, the turnout percentage was the highest in a U.S. election since 1900.