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- 10 October 2022
- Transport / Logistics Services
Cuts to infrastructure by US Postmaster Louis DeJoy had a direct impact on the delivery of election mail, ruled a Washington DC federal judge last week. The judge has put in place orders to prevent DeJoy from doing the same again.
The cuts to sorting infrastructure directly led to mail across the US not being delivered on time at higher rates than normal in 2020. Three states and two cities argued that the slowdown impacted their ability to stop the spread of the covid-19 virus by impeding people from having a viable alternative to in-person voting.
In mid-2020, DeJoy’s decisions led to the US Postal Service cutting back on the number of mail sorting machines it used, and also hindered the ability of postal workers to make extra trips that would result in them being paid overtime. These dovetailed with then-President Trump’s vocal opposition to mail-in ballots, and impacted on-time mail delivery.
Judge Emmet Sullivan concluded that DeJoy had made the changes without consulting the Postal Regulatory Commission.
“The evidence demonstrates that [the states and localities] suffered harm by impeding their ability to combat the spread COVID-19, impeding their ability to provide safe alternatives to in-person voting,” and by imposing costs and administrative burdens on state and local governments, Sullivan found.
Further, Sullivan said that the postal service couldn’t bar postal workers from making late or extra delivery trips without permission from the PRC, which is an independent federal agency.
“Although the simultaneous implementation of multiple policy changes in June and July 2020 contributed to the decline in mail service and the overall confusion by postal workers, the record evidence demonstrates that changes to and impacts on the USPS transportation schedule regarding late and extra trips were the primary factor in affecting service on a nationwide or substantially nationwide basis,” Sullivan wrote in a 65-page opinion Thursday.
The US Postal Service had not however violated the law governing federal elections in making those service changes.
“Though the implementation of the Postal Policy Changes contributed to the delay in mail deliveries nationwide, which in turn risked a delay in the delivery of mail-in ballots during an election season, USPS’s actions do not amount to voting regulations that override the States’ existing regulations,” Sullivan wrote.
In a statement, the Postal Service said it is “focused” on its critical role in the electoral process.
“Just as we always have been, the U.S. Postal Service remains fully committed to the secure, timely delivery of the nation’s Election Mail. Between now and the November election, we are highly focused on fulfilling our critical role as part of the country’s electoral system where election officials or voters choose to utilize us as a part of their process,” USPS said.
“We continue to believe that the lawsuit was not justified under the facts or supported by the applicable law. We are studying the opinion to determine our appropriate next steps,” the agency added.
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