The group agreed to handle ballots as if they were expressing mail if they were still in a processing plant in the three days before the election, according to the court documents.
This means that mail-in ballots would be passed the next day. Additionally, ballots being sent from a New York printer to the state would be fast-tracked, and Georgia postal departments will regularly sweep for undelivered ballots until the Jan. 5 election to guarantee no ballots are misplaced.
In Atlanta, the USPS agreed to skip the processing plants and immediately transfer the ballots to the Georgia Board of Elections (BOE). For days on which the Postal Service is not working or the BOE is not open, ballots will be transferred the next day that both the Postal Service and the BOE are open.
WATCH: UCLA PROTESTORS LOST THEIR MIND CALLING THE UNIVERSITY A VIOLENT INSTITUTION
Atlanta has listed some of the worst mail services in the South. Only 80.4 percent of the over 150,000 mail ballots in Atlanta that have been processed were passed on time, although there are some who claim that rate could be closer to 97 percent.
WATCH: TRUMP'S ATTORNEY FACING INDICTMENT IN ARIZONA
The agreement on ballot processing is an outcome of requests from groups like the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Vote Forward and marks a vital step for the Postal Service and its Justice Department lawyers in a case that started in August.
The parties presented the agreement to the court late Wednesday in an attempt to “avoid the cost and burden of further litigation between now and the Georgia Runoff Elections.”
IS MCDONALD'S BECOMING THE NEW CHAMPION OF AFFORDABILITY?
“Every ballot must be counted, and this agreement with the USPS is a significant step in ensuring that the mail-in voting process for the Georgia runoff election will ensure the timely delivery of ballots,” Sam Spital, the Legal Defense Fund’s litigation director, announced.
MICHAEL RAPAPORT FURIOUS AFTER SHOW GETS CANCELED
“The agreement provides for the prioritization of ballot delivery, the timely resolution of any delays in the delivery system, and transparency into the USPS process for ensuring that no voters are disenfranchised.”
The agreement likewise appears at one of the busiest times of the year for the U.S. Postal Service, which has been scrutinized after reports that it would struggle to transfer a historic amount of packages ahead of Christmas.
SPOILER ALERT: MSNBC HOSTS WARN THAT CAMPUS PROTESTS MIGHT PAVE THE WAY FOR TRUMP'S COMEBACK
The agency said delays are due to an employee shortage due to the coronavirus. About 19,000 of the agency’s 644,000 workers are ill or in isolation because of the virus. The agency is further being affected by capacity difficulties with airlines and trucking, which are accountable for transporting the mail.