TOMS RIVER – Protesters said they gathered at the post office to defend the Postal Service against President Donald Trump’s attacks to defund the USPS.
About 50 people assembled in front of the Toms River office for the “Save Our Mail, Save Our Vote!” event, displaying their home-made signs and banners to protest against the notion of the postal service being defunded. People waved signs that showed slogans such as “Save the US mail,” “Hands off my mail,” and “We support the USPS.”
Critics believe that President Donald Trump and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy are weakening the post office to slow the delivery of mail-in ballots for the upcoming election.
Back in June, DeJoy took over the postmaster general position and has since stated his plans to remodel the post office are to protect and secure the postal service in the long run.
More than 20 “Save Our Mail, Save Our Vote!” rallies were held statewide, with the Toms River event being run by BlueWaveNJ. They said DeJoy’s plans are deliberately slowing down the mail to make voting more challenging. People have complained about important mail such as prescription medications and Social Security checks arriving late.
Carol Gay, who created the event, said that the plans DeJoy and the Trump administration have formed have left people confused and anxious about mail-in voting. Gay had run in 2006 for the 4th District Congressional seat held by Rep. Chris Smith.
“Today we are here to defend the postal system and defend our right to vote. We just want to keep the pressure on to make sure that our system is protected and that they reverse all these policies that have been slowing everything down. It’s slowing down our mail and scaring people to death about mail-in votes. They are just trying to create a lot of confusion and chaos,” Gay said.
“The post office is designed for the common good, not for profit. Never for profit and never for political shenanigans. So we are here to say that we are not going to allow them to sabotage our mail system,” Gay said.
Brick resident Kayla Jennings attended the rally for her mother who works for the Post Office. Her sign read “Here for my mom. She is busy delivering mail!” Jennings said she’s here to voice the concerns of the residents her mother delivers to on a daily basis.
Other attendees like Jennings stood alongside West Water Street showcasing their signs to drivers passing by the post office. Many honked their horns or waved out their windows in support of the event.
“Our message is that we are not going to allow them to suppress our right to vote and we’re not going to allow them to destroy our mail system that we all depend on. We all depend on this every day. It’s a part of every community, the post office is at the heart of so many communities throughout this county,” Gay said.
