Eric Euen has walked the same downtown Salem mail route for half a century.

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) carrier is marking 50 years of federal service in 2026, still tracing the same path in his two-toned postal uniform, Salem Reporter first reported on Aug. 26. Euen told the outlet the job keeps him physically and emotionally healthy, and he is not ready to retire.

A Salem Reporter photographer captured Euen returning to his USPS vehicle after delivering mail downtown on Aug. 25.

The milestone lands at a charged moment for Oregon's postal system.

The state's more than 3 million registered voters depend on USPS to deliver and return their ballots every election cycle. Oregon has conducted all elections by mail since 1999, after voters approved the system in 1998.

On Aug. 25, Secretary of State Tobias Read directed county clerks and local election officials to continue mailing ballots on schedule despite a U.S. Supreme Court setback for states challenging the Trump administration's efforts to restrict mail voting, according to the Oregon Capital Chronicle. Election officials must mail ballots to military and overseas voters by Sept. 19 and to all other voters beginning Oct. 14.

"It's been more than a quarter century since we conducted in-person elections, so that transition would be expensive and difficult … It's also worth remembering that this election is effectively underway," Read said at a press conference at the state Capitol on Aug. 25.

Read also directed local election officials to document any challenges they experience with ballot delivery, including postal workers refusing to accept ballots, delaying delivery or giving contradictory instructions.

On Aug. 26, Attorney General Dan Rayfield joined nearly two dozen other states in filing a new lawsuit against USPS to block President Trump's executive order limiting mail voting in the midterm elections, OPB reported.

The Secretary of State's office recommends voters return ballots via official drop boxes or by mailing at least one week before Election Day due to cuts at USPS.

For Euen, the work continues. Fifty years in, he still walks the route.