HANOVER COUNTY, Va. -- The CBS 6 News team continues to share the voices of those in our community who are frustrated with the U.S. Postal Service.
Christine Harman is a court-appointed wedding celebrant in Hanover County.
For the past four years, she's been responsible for making sure marriage licenses make it to the appropriate court system for couples to be legally married in the eyes of the legal system.
"In four years of doing this, I started in 2020, and never had had an issue ever before," Harman said.
In her role, Harman is responsible for mailing marriage licenses, something she's always done through the U.S. Postal Service, until recently.
Out of 70 marriages she acted as a celebrant for, two of the marriage licenses she mailed off did not make it to their final destination, meaning the couples involved would not be recognized as married until the paperwork made it in.
"In our marriage documentation, it does state that we have five days to return to the courts. On the outside of the envelopes, most of the courts make it very apparent that it is a court system, and it is a court document that is going back to the court system," Harman explained. "So, to have two not go back in the same year, within a few months of each other, is very concerning."
While Harman is based out of Hanover, it's a problem she's heard of happening often in other localities.
"When I went to Henrico, one of the things that they were telling me was that they were getting back-dated marriage licenses from the previous months before I had ever gotten there," she said.
Harman is just one of the dozens of community members who have reached out to CBS 6 with concerns about their mail service.
Staffing issues, according to Sen. Mark Warner (D - Virginia), have contributed to slow service for some in the state.
Richmond-area post offices are currently hiring and hosting job fairs every Tuesday and Friday throughout February.
Though the exact number of open positions that need to be filled has not been shared with CBS 6, Philip Bogenberger, a spokesperson for the Richmond-area, said in a statement, in part:
"We are always hiring for full-time and part-time positions because we are continually growing."
The slow speed has also caused concerns about other pressing deliveries, like mail-in ballots that will be used for the 2024 election.
A spokesperson for the Henrico Registrar said in a statement that the Virginia Department of Elections set up a conference with local and national representatives with USPS in December, saying:
"It was a productive meeting that gave insight into their operations. I feel confident in their commitment to delivering top quality controls with ballots sent through the mail."
For now, Harman is hoping for change.
"I have bosses that I have to answer to, I have courts that I have to answer to, there is someone always above that has to be, you know, the person that you can go to for answers, and unless we have accountability, I don’t know how we’re going to have this rectified," Harman said.
The U.S. Postal Service said it's focusing on hiring more mail carriers.
Candidates interested in a position with the Postal Service can attend an upcoming job fair or search openings and apply for positions online at www.usps.com/careers [usps.com].
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