WASHINGTON, D.C. – Postmaster General Louis DeJoy issued a statement that the post office will be prepared for mail-in voting, and that plans in place to limit the work of the service will be pushed back until after the election.
There have been criticisms of DeJoy’s handling of the United States Postal Service this year in lieu of many states relying on mail-in voting for the first time (Five states already have mail-in voting).
Criticisms have included that DeJoy is deliberately slowing down mail to make voting more difficult, and as a side effect, important mail and prescriptions are being received late.
Some changes have been happening in post offices around the country that critics said were intentionally weakening the post office.
These changes are being held off until after the election, DeJoy said:
- 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, starting Oct. 1, there will be standby resources in all areas of operations, including transportation, to satisfy any unforeseen demand.
“The Postal Service is ready today to handle whatever volume of election mail it receives this fall,” DeJoy said. “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.”
As part of this, a taskforce on election mail will now include leaders of postal unions and management associations. The taskforce will work with state and local election officials, he said.
“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,” DeJoy said.
