The United States Postal Service is essential tax-payer funded infrastructure and must be protected.
Congress must act now!
WASHINGTON, D.C. August 18, 2020 - U.S. Vote Foundation (US Vote) and our Overseas Vote initiative decry the deliberate crippling of the United States Postal Service (USPS) by the Postmaster General and the stated intention of the executive branch to irrevocably dismantle its efficiency in order to thwart the movement of ballots in the November 2020 General Election.
We call for Congress to recognize this situation as a Constitutional emergency and take immediate action to stop the devastation of the USPS before it is too late. Extra funding and a clear directive should be established to support the USPS to excel in mail delivery for the upcoming election and beyond.
The USPS stands today as the largest postal service in the world by both geography and volume, and is estimated to deliver 47% of the world’s mail: in sum, the USPS is essential infrastructure that the taxpayers have funded and it is an outrage that it be sabotaged to take away the voice of our nation’s citizens.
The U.S. Constitution mandates a postal service as a means for citizens to be able to reasonably communicate with others in the country. Historically, upper classes had the means to transport their views and ideas; while those not so well off did not enjoy those same benefits. Communication was the underlying reason for a postal system, not just commerce, which drives everything today. Now, in a pandemic, we should be able to make our voices heard through mail balloting, thereby avoiding congestion and irresponsible actions that spread the virus.
Ensuring that ballots can safely and swiftly move through the postal system is an essential component of our voting process and the democracy that it supports. This is particularly true for voters who are not residing in their communities at the time of an election. This includes military and overseas voters, essential workers who are called upon to render assistance outside their voting districts, and others who are temporarily living away from home. Mail-in ballots have the added benefit of allowing medically at-risk individuals to cast a ballot without potential exposure to deadly diseases. Finally, mail-in ballots will allow the general population, election administrators and poll workers to avoid further devastating spread of the Coronavirus, which would further damage their personal, and the nation’s, physical and economic health.
As a non-partisan organization, US Vote firmly concurs with the large body of evidence that proves there is no inherent partisan advantage to voting by mail versus voting in person. US Vote also concurs with a similarly broad consensus that voting by mail in no way increases the risk of fraud. Finally, US Vote emphasizes the fact that not only is the USPS an essential part of our strategic voting infrastructure, it is also the underpinning of a significant portion of the United States economy. The USPS is a major employer of the veterans of our Armed Forces, a group of voters whom US Vote has been assisting in their efforts to vote by mail for over 16 years.
We implore the public to respond to this call to action. Contact your legislators to voice your demand that they convene immediately to: 1) stop the dismantling of the USPS’s efficient functionality; 2) authorize the requisite funding and direction to repair any damage done; 3) and, effectively execute the timely transmission of ballots for the upcoming election. Call for the Senate to pass the USPS Fairness Act (H.R. 2382) to support continued proper function of the USPS.
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U.S. Vote Foundation (US Vote) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c) 3 organization that works to facilitate and increase the participation of U.S. domestic, overseas and military voters worldwide through streamlined voter registration and absentee ballot request services, civic data, technology development, and access to personalized voter information services. US Vote is a leader in Vote-by-Mail Absentee Ballot Request services. Overseas Vote is the principal initiative of US Vote. Further information: www.usvotefoundation.org and www.overseasvote.org
For Further Information, please contact:
Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, susan@usvotefoundation.org, +1 (202) 470-2480