War on USPS Possible Voter Suppression Strategy

The Trump Administration has it in for the United States Postal Service, and Trump’s latest moves might foreshadow yet another scandalous re-election effort from the Republican Party. In late April, President Trump controversially referred to the beloved government service as “a joke,” and threatened to deny funding if rates were not quadrupled. Trump has made several unsubstantiated claims about Amazon costing the USPS money, which some have attributed to Trump’s ongoing feud with Jeff Bezos over Amazon’s subsidiary, the arguably left-leaning Washington Post. But developments suggest a larger, strategic effort: creating public distrust of the USPS. The outcomes of either scenario—USPS price gouging, or the slow decay of its services—would badly damage public approval of USPS. Interestingly, the timing couldn’t be better to ensure a large-scale mail service disruption this fall. 

Precautions have also been taken to ensure the cooperation of the USPS with Trump's demands. The selection of longtime Republican donor and Trump ally, Louis DeJoy as USPS Postmaster has dampened push-back, raising concerns about political bias. Partisan leadership will likely lead to structural changes toward for-profit service. The for-profit model almost guarantees lower quality service and the disenfranchisement of voters without easy access to the polls. On July 14, DeJoy issued orders to leave mail behind if it slows down routes, thereby enacting a policy seemingly geared toward that goal. Systematic disenfranchisement of minorities and young people in polling place voting is well documented. These are demographics which have long been predominantly Democratic, and no-excuse mail-in voting during COVID19 could enfranchise millions of voters who would otherwise be down for the count. In light of all this, it’s hard to avoid reading this attack on the USPS as a thuggish attempt to back up Trump’s outrageous claims about mail-in voting. Many believe the Postal Service will be incapable of bearing the burden of the influx of mail-in ballots this November, and the Trump Administration is doing everything in their power to make this fear a reality. 

With the security of mail-in votes in jeopardy, what can you do to help? Here are just a few actions you can take:

•Sign petitions to bring attention to this issue.

•Buy stamps. Yes, really.

•When you have the option, choose USPS shipping over FedEx, UPS, or Amazon Prime.

•Share information resources like this blog, and build momentum for #saveusps and related hashtags on Instagram and Twitter.

Remember that educating yourself is a good start—but taking action is what really facilitates the pursuit of justice and integrity in our electoral system. 

Auth: Tony Kane 

Sources:

http://inthesetimes.com/article/22563/US-Postal-Service-Lawrence-Swaim-COVID-19-Donald-Trump-Postal-Clerks-Union

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2020-04-24/trump-says-u-s-postal-service-is-a-joke-and-should-raise-rates-video

https://www.npr.org/2020/06/22/881598655/fact-check-trump-spreads-unfounded-claims-about-voting-by-mail

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/07/trump-bezos-feud-amazon-washington-post-taxes-usps

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/top-republican-fundraiser-and-trump-ally-to-be-named-postmaster-general-giving-president-new-influence-over-postal-service-officials-say/2020/05/06/25cde93c-8fd4-11ea-8df0-ee33c3f5b0d6_story.html

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-01-09/postal-service-trump

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/us/politics/republicans-vote-by-mail.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/05/21/heres-problem-with-mail-in-ballots-they-might-not-be-counted/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/15/how-trumps-war-postal-service-could-create-an-election-nightmare/

https://www.businessinsider.com/postmaster-general-carriers-leave-mail-delays-routes-usps-postal-service-2020-7#:~:text=The%20changes%2C%20established%20by%20new,on%20the%20condition%20of%20anonymity.