Postal workers lash out against new USPS rule that helps Trump’s attack on mail-in voting

By Brentin Mock

Mailboxes are seen outside of a US Post Office in Washington, DC on August 17, 2020. - The United States Postal Service is popularly known for delivering mail despite snow, rain or heat, but it faces a new foe in President Donald Trump. Ahead of the November 3 elections in which millions of voters are expected to cast ballots by mail due to the coronavirus, Trump has leveled an unprecedented attack at the USPS, opposing efforts to give the cash-strapped agency more money as part of a big new virus-related stimulus package, even as changes there have caused delays in mail delivery. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The American Postal Workers Union (APWU) says it is “deeply alarmed” about the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) new rule created to carry out President Donald Trump’s plans for restricting mail-in voting. 

Calling it an “unconstitutional attack on the millions of Americans who vote by mail,” the APWU said in a press statement that it “rejects the premise” that the USPS needed to comply with Trump’s order. 

“The Executive Order also ignores the fundamental purpose of the Postal Service and postal workers, which is to provide universal service to all,” reads the statement. “The Postal Service serves all Americans – regardless of party, religion, or race; it is not a tool for politicians to pick which Americans get which benefits.”

Trump’s March 31 order calls for the creation of federally managed lists of citizens the administration deems eligible to vote. It also calls for the USPS to only send absentee ballots to voters on lists that states have submitted for federal approval. Election experts say that these measures are unlawful given that states, and Congress to a degree, have the sole constitutional authority to administer elections.

However, on May 29, the USPS began fleshing out plans to comply with the order just a day after a federal judge declined to block it, in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of national Democratic Party organizations. 

There are several other pending lawsuits against the order, including one filed by a group of state attorneys general where a judge has expressed concerns about the harm it could impose on voters.  

On Thursday, the NAACP sued the USPS to stop the implementation of its proposed rule, which requires state election officials to submit lists of voters who’ve requested absentee ballots for eligibility approval. According to the NAACP, that plan violates a court-enforced settlement from 2021 when the USPS agreed to safeguard mail-in voting and prioritize timely ballot delivery through 2028. 

On Friday, a U.S. Justice Department court filing revealed that the Department of Homeland Security is exploring coordinating with the USPS to “to monitor mail-in and absentee ballot flows, identify anomalies that may suggest voter fraud or misuse, and generate authorized investigative leads.”

Congress created the USPS as an independent entity from the White House, say the postal workers. 

“APWU and its members are engaged in all of the efforts to defend the Postal Service’s independence and protect our fellow Americans’ right to vote by mail,” reads their statement.

Meanwhile, election officials in California and Wisconsin say ballot delivery times have been slower since the USPS began making policy changes.