Federal judge temporarily blocks USPS operational changes amid concerns about mail slowdowns, election
A federal judge in Washington state on Thursday granted a request from 14 states to temporarily block operational changes within the U.S. Postal Service that have been blamed for a slowdown in mail delivery, saying President Trump and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy are “involved in a politically motivated attack” on the agency that could disrupt the 2020 election.
Stanley A. Bastian, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, said policies put in place under DeJoy “likely will slow down delivery of ballots” this fall, creating a “substantial possibility that many voters will be disenfranchised and the states may not be able to effectively, timely, accurately determine election outcomes.”
“The states have demonstrated that the defendants are involved in a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service,” Bastian said in brief remarks after a two-and-a-half hour hearing in Yakima, Wash. “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 ruling — the first major decision to come out of several lawsuits filed by states against the Postal Service — was a victory for Democratic state officials who view Trump’s persistent attacks on mail voting and DeJoy’s operational changes as part of a concerted effort to impede the vote on Nov. 3. Partisan tensions are running high as millions of Americans prepare to cast mail ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic, and mail delays have heightened concerns that voters unfamiliar with the process will be disenfranchised.
In a written order released Thursday night, Bastian laid out more than a page of specific prohibitions on the Postal Service until a final judgment is reached in the case — restrictions that could broadly affect the agency’s services. He connected the USPS policies to Trump’s broadsides against mail voting, saying the actions amount to “voter disenfranchisement.”
“It is easy to conclude that the recent Postal Services’ changes is an intentional effort on the part the current Administration to disrupt and challenge the legitimacy of upcoming local, state, and federal elections,” he wrote.
USPS spokesman Dave Partenheimer said in a statement “while we are exploring our legal options, there should be no doubt that the Postal Service is ready and committed to handle whatever volume of election mail it receives. Our number one priority is to deliver election mail on-time.”
Added Donald Lee Moak, a Democrat who chairs the election mail committee of the USPS Board of Governors: “Any suggestion that there is a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service is completely and utterly without merit.”
Last month, DeJoy told lawmakers that ensuring the safe and timely delivery of election mail was his “sacred duty,” disputing accusations that changes he put in place were politically motivated. He reiterated his commitment to election mail in a call Thursday with secretaries of states and election officials around the country.
Postal Service backlog sparks worries that ballot delivery could be delayed in November
The judge’s decision could produce more tumult within the Postal Service just as states start to send out mail ballots. At least nine states have started proactively sending mail ballot applications or request forms to voters, and by Sunday approximately 20 states will have started distributing actual ballots through the mail, according The Post’s 50-state voting guide.
“Changes this close to an election have a cost, and that cost is usually paid in voter confusion,” said David Becker, executive director of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research, adding: “What it comes down to is: can voters rely on the Postal Service getting their ballots to them and getting them to election officials in a reasonable amount of time?”
It is unclear how the court decision will impact mail service in the short term.
The suit, filed by Washington and 13 other states, sought a broad injunction prohibiting the Postal Service from implementing operational changes, distribution center closures and removal of mail sorting machines, among other changes, absent an opinion by the Postal Regulatory Commission.
In his decision, Bastian largely granted that request, ordering the Postal Service to reverse any instructions for mail carriers to leave mail behind at postal facilities, to stop requiring trucks to leave a set times regardless of whether the mail is ready and to allow return trips to distribution centers to ensure “timely delivery.”
USPS must also treat all election mail according to First Class delivery standards and replace or restore the equipment required to do that. Any request to “reconnect or replace any decommissioned or removed sorting machine(s)” must be directed through the court for approval, unless USPS has already approved it.
Some policies blamed for delivery delays have long been in place. For example, the Postal Service routinely mothballs sorting machines to cut out excess capacity, USPS officials have said.
After taking office in June, DeJoy also instituted new measures he later said were aimed at cutting costs, but postal workers said they led to a curtailing of overtime and mail backlogs. John Barger, a Republican member of the Board of Governors, told a Senate panel earlier this month DeJoy did not brief the governors on his new policies, but said the board was “thrilled” by the postmaster general’s performance.
Concerns about the USPS’s ability to handle election mail rose during the summer amid widespread reports of mail delays. Those worries grew acute when the Postal Service sent detailed letters to 46 states and the District of Columbia warning it could not guarantee that mail ballots would arrive in time to be counted in November.
Days later, 21 states cited concerns about the election as they announced they planned to file several lawsuits over DeJoy’s operational changes.
Washington’s suit was joined by Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.
In a complaint filed Aug. 18, the group argued that the Postal Service acted outside of its authority by making operational changes without seeking an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission, an independent agency with broad power to review USPS’s policies and performance.
CONTINUED:
SEATTLE -- A U.S. judge on Thursday blocked controversial Postal Service changes that have slowed mail nationwide, calling them 'œa politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service' before the November election.
Judge Stanley Bastian in Yakima, Washington, said he was issuing a nationwide preliminary injunction sought by 14 states that sued the Trump administration and the U.S. Postal Service.
The states challenged the Postal Service's so-called 'œleave mail behind' policy, by which trucks have been leaving postal facilities on time whether or not there is more mail to load. They also sought to force the Postal Service to treat election mail as First Class mail.
'œThe states have demonstrated the defendants are involved in a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service," Bastian said.
He also said the changes created 'œa substantial possibility many voters will be disenfranchised.'
Bastian said he would issue a written order later in the day, but that it would be substantially the same as that sought by the states.
Following a national uproar, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a major donor to President Donald Trump and the GOP, announced he was suspending some changes - including the removal of iconic blue mailboxes in many cities and the decommissioning of mail processing machines. But others remained in place, and the states - including the battlegrounds of Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada - sued to have those undone as well.
The other states suing include Washington, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia - all led by Democratic attorneys general.
Other lawsuits over the changes have been brought in New York and Pennsylvania.
CONTINUED:
www.dailyherald.com
A federal judge in Washington state on Thursday granted a request from 14 states to temporarily block operational changes within the U.S. Postal Service that have been blamed for a slowdown in mail delivery, saying President Trump and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy are “involved in a politically motivated attack” on the agency that could disrupt the 2020 election.
Stanley A. Bastian, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, said policies put in place under DeJoy “likely will slow down delivery of ballots” this fall, creating a “substantial possibility that many voters will be disenfranchised and the states may not be able to effectively, timely, accurately determine election outcomes.”
“The states have demonstrated that the defendants are involved in a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service,” Bastian said in brief remarks after a two-and-a-half hour hearing in Yakima, Wash. “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 ruling — the first major decision to come out of several lawsuits filed by states against the Postal Service — was a victory for Democratic state officials who view Trump’s persistent attacks on mail voting and DeJoy’s operational changes as part of a concerted effort to impede the vote on Nov. 3. Partisan tensions are running high as millions of Americans prepare to cast mail ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic, and mail delays have heightened concerns that voters unfamiliar with the process will be disenfranchised.
In a written order released Thursday night, Bastian laid out more than a page of specific prohibitions on the Postal Service until a final judgment is reached in the case — restrictions that could broadly affect the agency’s services. He connected the USPS policies to Trump’s broadsides against mail voting, saying the actions amount to “voter disenfranchisement.”
“It is easy to conclude that the recent Postal Services’ changes is an intentional effort on the part the current Administration to disrupt and challenge the legitimacy of upcoming local, state, and federal elections,” he wrote.
USPS spokesman Dave Partenheimer said in a statement “while we are exploring our legal options, there should be no doubt that the Postal Service is ready and committed to handle whatever volume of election mail it receives. Our number one priority is to deliver election mail on-time.”
Added Donald Lee Moak, a Democrat who chairs the election mail committee of the USPS Board of Governors: “Any suggestion that there is a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service is completely and utterly without merit.”
Last month, DeJoy told lawmakers that ensuring the safe and timely delivery of election mail was his “sacred duty,” disputing accusations that changes he put in place were politically motivated. He reiterated his commitment to election mail in a call Thursday with secretaries of states and election officials around the country.
Postal Service backlog sparks worries that ballot delivery could be delayed in November
The judge’s decision could produce more tumult within the Postal Service just as states start to send out mail ballots. At least nine states have started proactively sending mail ballot applications or request forms to voters, and by Sunday approximately 20 states will have started distributing actual ballots through the mail, according The Post’s 50-state voting guide.
“Changes this close to an election have a cost, and that cost is usually paid in voter confusion,” said David Becker, executive director of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research, adding: “What it comes down to is: can voters rely on the Postal Service getting their ballots to them and getting them to election officials in a reasonable amount of time?”
It is unclear how the court decision will impact mail service in the short term.
The suit, filed by Washington and 13 other states, sought a broad injunction prohibiting the Postal Service from implementing operational changes, distribution center closures and removal of mail sorting machines, among other changes, absent an opinion by the Postal Regulatory Commission.
In his decision, Bastian largely granted that request, ordering the Postal Service to reverse any instructions for mail carriers to leave mail behind at postal facilities, to stop requiring trucks to leave a set times regardless of whether the mail is ready and to allow return trips to distribution centers to ensure “timely delivery.”
USPS must also treat all election mail according to First Class delivery standards and replace or restore the equipment required to do that. Any request to “reconnect or replace any decommissioned or removed sorting machine(s)” must be directed through the court for approval, unless USPS has already approved it.
Some policies blamed for delivery delays have long been in place. For example, the Postal Service routinely mothballs sorting machines to cut out excess capacity, USPS officials have said.
After taking office in June, DeJoy also instituted new measures he later said were aimed at cutting costs, but postal workers said they led to a curtailing of overtime and mail backlogs. John Barger, a Republican member of the Board of Governors, told a Senate panel earlier this month DeJoy did not brief the governors on his new policies, but said the board was “thrilled” by the postmaster general’s performance.
Concerns about the USPS’s ability to handle election mail rose during the summer amid widespread reports of mail delays. Those worries grew acute when the Postal Service sent detailed letters to 46 states and the District of Columbia warning it could not guarantee that mail ballots would arrive in time to be counted in November.
Days later, 21 states cited concerns about the election as they announced they planned to file several lawsuits over DeJoy’s operational changes.
Washington’s suit was joined by Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.
In a complaint filed Aug. 18, the group argued that the Postal Service acted outside of its authority by making operational changes without seeking an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission, an independent agency with broad power to review USPS’s policies and performance.
CONTINUED:
SEATTLE -- A U.S. judge on Thursday blocked controversial Postal Service changes that have slowed mail nationwide, calling them 'œa politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service' before the November election.
Judge Stanley Bastian in Yakima, Washington, said he was issuing a nationwide preliminary injunction sought by 14 states that sued the Trump administration and the U.S. Postal Service.
The states challenged the Postal Service's so-called 'œleave mail behind' policy, by which trucks have been leaving postal facilities on time whether or not there is more mail to load. They also sought to force the Postal Service to treat election mail as First Class mail.
'œThe states have demonstrated the defendants are involved in a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service," Bastian said.
He also said the changes created 'œa substantial possibility many voters will be disenfranchised.'
Bastian said he would issue a written order later in the day, but that it would be substantially the same as that sought by the states.
Following a national uproar, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a major donor to President Donald Trump and the GOP, announced he was suspending some changes - including the removal of iconic blue mailboxes in many cities and the decommissioning of mail processing machines. But others remained in place, and the states - including the battlegrounds of Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada - sued to have those undone as well.
The other states suing include Washington, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia - all led by Democratic attorneys general.
Other lawsuits over the changes have been brought in New York and Pennsylvania.
CONTINUED:
US judge blocks Postal Service changes that slowed mail
A U.S. judge blocked controversial Postal Service changes that have slowed mail nationwide, calling them 'a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service' before the November election
