On Friday, The Washington Post reported that the U.S. Postal Service sent letters to 46 states informing them that their deadlines “for requesting and casting mail-in ballots are incongruous with the Postal Service’s delivery standards.”
The letter suggests that voters who return ballots close to the time of some state’s deadlines run the risk of not having their vote counted.
The letter, which was sent by Postal Service General Counsel Thomas Marshall, warns 40 states that mail-in ballots – whether they be absentee ballots or ballots from states that hold their elections via mail (mail-in ballots) — could be in jeopardy of reaching election officials because of measures being taken to save money.
Six other states and the District of Columbia were told ballots could be delayed, but that was not as likely a possibility as the other 40 states.
The Postal Service, which has run billions of dollars in the red for the past decade, said it was warning of the potential slowdown on deliveries due to funding shortages and how those shortages were worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump said he would sign any relief bill that includes emergency federal funds for the service and more money to process election-related mail, but he walked back the comment, saying he would sign a bill to keep the Postal Service afloat and working.
Over the weekend, Democrats lambasted Trump and Republicans as media outlets reported that the Postal Service is decommissioning 10% of its machines by the end of the year under the new policy.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Friday in a statement that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy needs to “quickly reverse his operational changes that have led to delays and service reductions for too many Americans and threaten to undermine our democracy.” Pelosi and Schumer said Trump was willing to “manipulate the operations of the Post Office to deny eligible voters the ballot in pursuit of his own re-election.”
What is happening with the Postal Service and how will it affect voting in November? Here’s what we know now.
What is being cut from the Postal Service?
In June, DeJoy ordered cost-cutting measures for the Postal Service. Included in that order were measures to decommission mail collection boxes and shutter some sorting machines.
A document obtained by The Associated Press outlined those changes, plus a plan to eliminate overtime for hundreds of thousands of postal workers and end “late trip” mail deliveries. Should a postal distribution center be running late on a given day, the memo instructs that the center “will keep the mail for the next day.”
The document also said employees must adopt a “different mindset” to ensure the Postal Service’s survival during the coronavirus pandemic, the AP reported.
Why were the cuts ordered?
The U.S. Postal Service has seen deep revenue losses for years. According to the Government Accounting Office, the agency lost $69 billion over the past 11 fiscal years. In the first quarter of 2020, the agency lost $4.5 billion.
Dejoy said an overdue “operational pivot” is needed, and Postal Service officials say without emergency funding, the service will run out of money by the end of September.
In remarks to the Postal Service Board of Governors on Aug. 7, DeJoy reiterated the Postal Service goal of providing timely mail delivery but said "without timely legislative and regulatory reform, we will be forced to take aggressive measures to cut costs and bridge the divide."
Where does it stand now?
Over the weekend, the Postal Service defended removing boxes and blocking others, saying it was in keeping with "routine" efforts to "identify redundant/seldom used collection boxes."
"This process is one of the many ways the Postal Services makes adjustments to our infrastructure to match our resources to declining mail volumes," spokesperson Kimberly Frum said.
After the public outcry, it was announced that "the Postal Service will postpone removing boxes for a period of 90 days while we evaluate our customers concerns."
What does the White House say about it?
Trump has made it clear he is not a fan of voter mail-in ballots, which is different than absentee ballots.
The situation with the funding of the Postal Service became a political issue with a statement Trump made last week saying he opposed additional funding for the Postal Service and election security grants because those measures could make voting by mail easier and that voting by mail was rife with fraud.
He walked back those statements the next day, saying he would support funding the post office and securing the jobs of its employees.
On Monday, Trump said he has directed administration officials to work to “speed up” mail delivery.
“I have encouraged everybody to speed up the mail, not slow the mail,” Trump told reporters outside the White House.
What do the Democrats in Congress say about it?
After the comments by Pelosi and Schumer, House Democrats on Sunday sent a letter to DeJoy inviting him to testify before Congress on Aug. 24.
"Your testimony is particularly urgent given the troubling influx of reports of widespread delays at postal facilities across the country—as well as President Trump's explicit admission last week that he has been blocking critical coronavirus funding for the Postal Service in order to impair mail-in voting efforts for the upcoming elections in November," wrote Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., the chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
What does that mean for the November election?
How efficiently the postal system works when it comes to ballots is vital. At least three-quarters of all American voters will be eligible to receive a ballot in the mail for the 2020 election. That is the highest percentage in American history, according to a New York Times analysis. It is predicted that 80 million ballots could be sent to American voters.
What is the difference between mail-in ballots and absentee ballots?
Absentee ballots are ballots requested by voters who are not able to get to polling places to vote in person on Election Day. The ballots are mailed to the registered voters who make their choices and return them, via the Postal Service, back to election officials.
Some states require excuses for getting an absentee ballot while others do not.
The term “mail-in” ballots technically apply to nine states – Washington, Oregon, California, New Jersey, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Vermont and Hawaii – and the District of Columbia that hold their elections through a mail-in process called all-mail, universal vote by mail or mail-in voting. All of the state’s citizens who are registered and eligible to vote receive a ballot in the mail prior to Election Day. Voters make their choices and either mail the ballot back to election officials or return it to specified places where they are gathered and returned to election officials.
In 34 states, voters can cite the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason to vote absentee or they can cast absentee ballots without specifying a reason.
In nine states, registered voters will automatically be mailed an application to request an absentee ballot.
In 25 states, voters must ask their election officials for an absentee ballot.
In seven states, voters still need a reason beyond the virus to vote absentee.
You can click here to see a map showing how states are set up for absentee and mail-in voting.
Cox Media Group
