BALTIMORE (WBOC/CBS)- Delaware and Maryland are joining other states in filing a federal lawsuit challenging “drastic operational changes” at the U.S. Postal Service that they allege could undermine the national election in November.
Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings said Tuesday, “Every American depends on the mail, and millions of people are being harmed because of political sabotage writ large. You don’t have to take my word for it: the president made clear on national TV that he’s trying to prevent a fair election. In any other era, under any other administration, it would be unthinkable to appoint a megadonor to deliberately break one of America’s oldest public services — but corruption has become the new normal. I’m not standing for it, and neither are my fellow Attorneys General.”
Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh also said Tuesday that the president’s “attacks” on the postal service are designed to disrupt the election- striking at the core of the country’s democracy.
Frosh added that President Doanld Trump and U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy are also “hurting innocent bystanders” such as Americans waiting for medicine, social security checks and other services.
“This conduct is harmful, illegal and unconstitutional. We are filing suit to stop it,” Frosh said.
The states’ lawsuit asserts the Postal Service implemented the changes to mail service nationwide unlawfully, and is seeking to stop the agency’s service reductions. This comes after comments made by President Trump in recent days, claiming that widespread vote-by-mail will lead to a fraudulent election- which the states’ suit calls a “baseless claim."
These changes include eliminating staff overtime, changing how the mail is sorted and requiring late-arriving mail to be left for delivery the next day, as well as plans to stop processing outgoing mail at some state mail distribution centers.
Congressional leaders claim this has already resulted in mail delays, and will disproportionately impact rural communities.
U.S. Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware said his office has seen the proportion of constituent casework dealing with Postal Service complaints increase by 20 times the normal rate, and has received whistleblower complaints from current postal workers regarding service delays and delivery issues.
According to Carper, Delawareans in the City of New Castle have reported not receiving mail for upwards of six days. A local postmaster responded to the complaints by citing recent policy changes implemented by DeJoy.
The attorneys general assert that the Postal Service has acted outside of its authority to implement these changes and did not follow the proper procedures under federal law.
They also point out Trump’s comments that the service cuts at the Postal Service has a partisan motive, adding he said that the Postal Service doesn’t have the money to do the universal mail-in voting, so they cannot do it.
CBS News reported last week these comments from the president: "They want $25 billion, billion, for the post office. Now, they need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots. But if they don’t get those two items, that means you can’t have universal mail in voting because they’re not equipped to have it."
For his part, LeJoy released the following statement Tuesday:
“The United States Postal Service will play a critical role this year in delivering election mail for millions of voters across the country. There has been a lot of discussion recently about whether the Postal Service is ready, willing and able to meet this challenge.
"I want to make a few things clear:
"The Postal Service is ready today to handle whatever volume of election mail it receives this fall. Even with the challenges of keeping our employees and customers safe and healthy as they operate amid a pandemic, we will deliver the nation’s election mail on time and within our well-established service standards. The American public should know that this is our number one priority between now and election day. The 630,000 dedicated women and men of the Postal Service are committed, ready and proud to meet this sacred duty.
"I am announcing today the expansion of our current leadership taskforce on election mail to enhance our ongoing work and partnership with state and local election officials in jurisdictions throughout the country. Leaders of our postal unions and management associations have committed to joining this taskforce to ensure strong coordination throughout our organization. Because of the unprecedented demands of the 2020 election, this taskforce will help ensure that election officials and voters are well informed and fully supported by the Postal Service.
"I came to the Postal Service to make changes to secure the success of this organization and its long-term sustainability. I believe significant reforms are essential to that objective, and work toward those reforms will commence after the election. In the meantime, there are some longstanding operational initiatives — efforts that predate my arrival at the Postal Service — that have been raised as areas of concern as the nation prepares to hold an election in the midst of a devastating pandemic. To avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded.
"I want to assure all Americans of the following:
- Retail hours at Post Offices will not change.
- Mail processing equipment and blue collection boxes will remain where they are.
- No mail processing facilities will be closed.
- And we reassert that overtime has, and will continue to be, approved as needed.
"In addition, effective Oct. 1, we will engage standby resources in all areas of our operations, including transportation, to satisfy any unforeseen demand.
"I am grateful for the commitment and dedication of all the men and women of the Postal Service, and the trust they earn from the American public every day, especially as we continue to contend with the impacts of COVID-19. As we move forward, they will have the full support of our organization throughout the election.”