Tag Archives: election mail

U.S. Postal Service, NAACP reach settlement on election mail

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and NAACP reached a settlement to resolve a 2020 lawsuit over election mail that the Justice Department said would ensure prioritizing delivering ballots in future elections.

USPS agreed for the 2022 mid-term congressional election to take the same extraordinary measures used to deliver ballots in the November 2020 election. The Postal Service also agreed for elections through 2028 to post guidance documents publicly reflecting its “good faith efforts to prioritize monitoring and timely delivery of Election Mail.”

USPS general counsel Thomas Marshall said USPS “agreed to continue to prioritize monitoring and timely delivery of Election Mail for future elections. This will include outreach and coordination with election officials and election stakeholders, including the NAACP.”

Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said, “The right to vote and ability to access the ballot is the cornerstone of our democracy. The department is pleased we could facilitate a resolution that reflects the commitment of all of the parties to appropriately handling and prioritizing election mail.”

NAACP President Derrick Johnson said, “No one, including the USPS, should ever stand in the way of our constitutional rights. With the NAACP’s ability to now monitor the performance of the USPS during national elections, we will ensure that the right to vote is protected for of all citizens, including those often suppressed.”

The NAACP sued in the summer of 2020 to ensure timely delivery of mail-in ballots. Several courts ordered USPS to take extraordinary measures to ensure ballot deliveries, especially since a record number of Americans opted to vote by mail during the COVID-19 pandemic,

USPS reiterated that it “continues to believe that none of the Election Mail lawsuits were justified by the facts or supported by the applicable law.”

USPS will provide weekly reports on service performance during the six weeks leading up to general elections.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Porter)

U.S. judge orders Post Office to expedite November election mail

By David Shepardson and Joseph Ax

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – A federal judge on Monday ordered the U.S. Postal Service to expedite all November election mail and to approve additional overtime for postal workers.

U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in Manhattan said the Postal Service must treat to the extent possible all election mail as first-class mail or priority mail express and “shall pre-approve all overtime that has been or will be requested” between Oct. 26 and Nov. 6.

Marrero’s opinion said that in prior elections, including 2018, the Postal Service typically treated election mail as first-class mail, even if it was sent at marketing mail rates.

“Multiple managerial failures have undermined the postal employees’ ability to fulfill their vital mission,” he wrote.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian in Yakima, Washington, said he was issuing a nationwide injunction sought by 14 states in a case against President Donald Trump, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, and the U.S. Postal Service over July changes to the service.

The 14 states, led by Washington, had filed a motion for a preliminary injunction asking the court to immediately halt a “leave mail behind” policy that required postal trucks to leave at certain times, regardless of whether mail was loaded.

DeJoy, a Trump supporter, said in August that he would halt many of the cost-cutting changes he put in place until after the presidential election after Democrats accused him of trying to put his thumb on the scales to help Trump, which he has denied. A surge in mail-in ballots is expected because of the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. Postal Service spokesman Dave Partenheimer said last week while the agency was exploring its legal options, it was “ready and committed to handle whatever volume of election mail it receives.”

“Our number one priority is to deliver election mail on time,” Partenheimer said.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Judge temporarily blocks U.S. Postal Service changes, citing mail slowdown

By Karen Freifeld

(Reuters) – A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the United States Postal Service from making operational changes that states say threaten the timely delivery of election mail.

U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian in Yakima, Washington, said he would issue a nationwide preliminary injunction sought by 14 states in a case brought against U.S. President Donald Trump, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, and the U.S. Postal Service over July changes to the service.

“The states have demonstrated that the defendants are involved in a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the postal service,” the judge said in a hearing by telephone.

“They have also demonstrated that this attack on the postal service is likely to irreparably harm the states’ ability to administer the 2020 general election.”

The 14 states, led by Washington, had asked the court to immediately halt requirements that compelled postal trucks to leave at certain times, regardless of whether mail has yet to be loaded.

They also asked that all election mail be treated as first-class mail, regardless of the paid postage; and that sorting machines that had been removed and are needed to ensure the timely delivery of election mail be replaced; and for the postal service to abide by Postmaster General DeJoy’s commitment to suspend the recent changes that have affected mail until after the election.

The judge said the preliminary injunction would essentially be issued as the states requested, and he said he would issue a written order, likely later on Thursday.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Chris Reese and Aurora Ellis)