Postmaster Normal Louis DeJoy promised a Senate committee Friday that election mail will probably be prioritized this November, and that he was
Postmaster Normal Louis DeJoy promised a Senate committee Friday that election mail will probably be prioritized this November, and that he was “extraordinarily extremely assured” that ballots despatched per week earlier than Election Day would arrive on time and be counted.
“We are going to scour each plant every evening main as much as Election Day — very, very assured,” DeJoy mentioned Friday, responding to a query from Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT).
DeJoy’s reply was one among plenty of assurances he gave lawmakers on the Republican-led Senate Homeland Safety and Governmental Affairs committee about the USA Postal Service’s skill to deal with the anticipated enormous inflow of mail-in ballots anticipated throughout this yr’s election because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The listening to comes amid experiences that current cost-cutting measures DeJoy applied on the USPS have produced a “crippling backlog” of letters and packages, and fears that might undermine the November election and lead to tens of millions of People’ main-in ballots going uncounted.
However regardless of DeJoy’s commitments to prioritize election mail, he didn’t actually elaborate on the publish workplace’s plan to do this — or clarify how current modifications, together with the decommissioning of a whole lot of mail-sorting machines, might probably have an effect on not simply the on-time supply of ballots, but in addition payments and medicines.
DeJoy is a significant Trump and Republican donor and former logistics govt who solely took over the USPS on June 16. Since then, he’s initiated a collection of cost-cutting measures that postal employees and unions mentioned have prompted delays in delivering the mail.
As Vox’s Adam Clark Estes reported, these measures included modifications to mail transportation; new restrictions on additional time hours; and the decommissioning of about 671 USPS sorting machines, which might course of 21.Four million items of flat mail (which incorporates paper ballots) per hour. A whole bunch of blue mail-collection bins have additionally been eliminated across the nation.
The pandemic has additionally exacerbated issues all through the postal service (which predate DeJoy), as employees fall sick or must take depart for childcare, and extra assets are allotted to supplying private protecting gear.
And, in July, the USPS despatched letters to 46 states and Washington, DC warning that it won’t be capable of ship all ballots by Election Day, at the same time as extra folks the variety of folks anticipated to vote by mail doubles.
All of this, mixed with President Donald Trump’s baseless claims that mail-in voting will increase the potential for fraud, raised fears that tens of millions of People who vote by mail within the November election is likely to be disenfranchised.
In response to Democrats, voting teams, and state attorneys common, DeJoy introduced earlier this week that the USPS would halt any additional operational modifications till after the election “to keep away from even the looks of any impression on election mail.” That included preserving mail processing tools and blue assortment bins the place they’re, pausing on closing any mail processing services, and persevering with to approve additional time as wanted. DeJoy mentioned he “had no thought” in regards to the removing of the blue assortment bins, however mentioned he’d discovered that it was a standard course of that and that he’d since stopped it forward of the election.
DeJoy additionally promised that beginning October 1, the USPS would interact “standby assets” to fulfill additional demand. DeJoy additionally denied talking to Trump or his marketing campaign about modifications to postal operation, calling it “an outrageous declare.”
But DeJoy conceded that he’ll transfer ahead with dramatic cost-saving measures after the election — together with elevating package deal charges and curbing reductions for nonprofits, in line with the Washington Put up. And, most critically, DeJoy mentioned that he wouldn’t reverse a few of the modifications that had already taken place, and wouldn’t convey again on-line the a whole lot of USPS mail-sorting machines which were decommissioned.
“There’s no intention to do this, they’re not wanted, sir,” DeJoy mentioned, in response to a query from Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI).
First-class mail has been reducing since 2001, and the USPS normally does decommission a share of those sorting machines annually — although the variety of machines taken offline this yr far exceeds that of current years. And postal employees have mentioned that eradicating these machines might decelerate the processing of flat mail.
In a single notable alternate, Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) requested DeJoy whether or not he had an in depth plan about how he’s “going to make sure the type of supply that People depend on for voting by mail?” In any case, as lawmakers identified, voters in some states can begin requesting their mail-in ballots as early as September 4, only a few weeks from now.
DeJoy responded that “there are detailed processes that we’re going by way of, they’re going to be expanded plans to that,” including that he had simply expanded the management job pressure on election mail, one thing he additionally introduced this week. When Hassan pressed for particulars the plan by Sunday, DeJoy mentioned he didn’t assume he would have a whole plan prepared by then, however that he’d get again to her.
DeJoy will probably be again earlier than Congress subsequent week, to testify earlier than the Home, which can be a bit extra tense than Friday’s listening to. Home Democrats have a invoice to reverse a few of the modifications DeJoy put in place and to offer $25 billion to the USPS. DeJoy mentioned throughout the Friday listening to that the publish workplace didn’t want extra funding to ship mail on Election Day — although he welcomed and urged Congressional motion on reform to the USPS.