Buffalo, NY (WBEN) New York's top prosecutor is filing a lawsuit to stop what she calls the Trump Administration’s attempts to dismantle the United States Postal Service (USPS) and disrupt operations in an effort to undermine the November presidential election. James is being joined by leaders in other states in the suit.
The suit, filed against President Donald Trump, the USPS, and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy — comes a day after the postmaster general finished testifying before Congress in which he refused to reverse policies that have slowed mail operations across the nation.
“This USPS slowdown is nothing more than a voter suppression tactic,” said Attorney General James. “Yet, this time, these authoritarian actions are not only jeopardizing our democracy and fundamental right to vote, but the immediate health and financial well-being of Americans across the nation. We will do everything in our power to stop the president’s power grab and ensure every eligible voter has the opportunity to cast a ballot come November.”
James leads the coalition of three states and two cities in arguing that significant and recent changes to USPS operations under DeJoy’s leadership have substantially delayed USPS mail in New York and across the country. These include removing mailboxes and mail sorting machines, curtailing overtime for USPS staff, prohibiting late and extra trips that ensure mail is delivered on a timely and consistent basis, institutionalizing other policies that cause further delays, and creating confusion regarding what election mail standards the USPS will follow in advance of the November general election. The suit further alleges that changes in USPS operations are in line with President Donald Trump’s repeated and public statements in opposition to mail-in voting and his intent to impair the delivery of mailed ballots by cutting off the resources needed for the USPS to operate because mailed ballots would specifically harm Republicans’ abilities to win elections, even going so far as to make clear last month in a tweet that “Republicans, in particular, cannot let this happen!”
James says the USPS — under General DeJoy’s directives — has begun to scale back operations that would significantly undermine the USPS’s ability to handle what is expected to be a record number of mail-in ballots this November because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. She adds the slowdown is already having life-threatening impacts on veterans and seniors who are not receiving medication and economic impacts on individuals waiting for their pensions and paychecks.
“The United States Postal Service is an institution built on trust. For nearly 250 years, with confidence, the Postal Service has delivered on its guarantee to serve the American people," said Congressman Brian Higgins. “In just a few months, this Postmaster has managed to undermine that guarantee, the people’s Constitutional right to this public service and our democracy. We commend Attorney General James for protecting Americans from this disaster of a Postmaster and safeguarding the future of the United States Postal Service.”
James is being joined in filing the suit by the attorneys general of Hawaii and New Jersey, as well as the city of New York, NY and the city and county of San Francisco, CA.