Watch the New Video HERE
Today, Protect Our Care’s Coronavirus War Room is releasing a new video highlighting how Donald Trump is threatening our democracy by insidiously dismantling the US Postal Service ahead of a historic election that will take place overwhelmingly by mail due to the coronavirus crisis.
In response, Protect Our Care’s Coronavirus War Room Director Zac Petkanas released the following statement:
“Donald Trump’s botched pandemic response has allowed the virus to continue raging across the country. Now, more people than ever are planning to vote by mail in order to protect themselves and their loved ones while exercising their right to participate in our democracy.
“In response, Donald Trump has admitted to undercutting the USPS in an attempt to boost his reelection campaign.
“During this pandemic, the postal service has never been more important – not only for those counting on using it to cast their ballots – but for families who need to get prescription drugs or other materials safely delivered.
“By gutting this key institution, Donald Trump has launched a direct attack on American families desperately trying to navigate the deadly consequences of the Administration’s failed pandemic response.”
WATCHBackground on Donald Trump’s efforts to dismantle the US Postal Service in the midst of a global pandemic:
- President Trump: “They Need That Money In Order To Have The Post Office Work So It Can Take All Of These Millions And Millions Of Ballots.” “‘They need that money in order to have the Post Office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,’ Trump said in a Fox Business interview Thursday morning. ‘But if they don’t get those two items that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting, because they’re not equipped to have it.’” [CNBC, 8/13/20]
- Trump: “If We Don’t Make A Deal… That Means They Can’t Have Universal Mail-In Voting.” “President Donald Trump frankly acknowledged Thursday that he’s starving the U.S. Postal Service of money in order to make it harder to process an expected surge of mail-in ballots, which he worries could cost him the election…. ‘If we don’t make a deal, that means they don’t get the money,’ Trump told host Maria Bartiromo. ‘That means they can’t have universal mail-in voting; they just can’t have it.’” [Associated Press, 8/13/20]
- Postmaster General Louis DeJoy Has Stalled Mail Delivery By Removing High-Speed Letter Sorters, Deprioritizing Mail-In Ballots, Reducing Post Office Hours, Cutting Overtime For Postal Workers And Removing Mailboxes. “Under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s administration, the USPS has slowed delivery, removed high-speed letter sorters from commission and issued a stark warning to election officials that mail-in ballots will no longer automatically be moved as priority mail. The postal service has also started reducing post office operating hours across several states, cut overtime for postal workers and removed some of their iconic blue letter collection boxes.” [CNN, 8/16/20]
- Roscoe Woods Jr, President Of Michigan Postal Workers Union Local 480-481, Warned That DeJoy’s Removal Of Mail Sorting Machines Could Cause Problems For Mail-In Ballots During The Presidential Election. “New work rules implemented by new U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy are significantly delaying delivery of the mail in Michigan, according to Roscoe Woods, Jr., President of Michigan Postal Workers Union Local 480-481. And Woods says the removal of several mail sorting machines at two of the state’s mail distribution centers could cause problems closer to Election Day, when mailed-in ballots are expected to surge.” [Michigan Radio, 8/14/20]
- Mailboxes Have Reportedly Been Removed In Oregon, Montana, New York And Pennsylvania. “Social media exploded with reports from Oregon, Montana, Manhattan and Pennsylvania that the Postal Service was unbolting and hauling away mailboxes. ‘Some of the boxes scheduled to be removed from downtown Billings are nearly overflowing daily,’ Julie Quilliam, president of the Montana Letter Carriers Association, wrote on Facebook, per AP.” [Axios, 8/15/20]
- The U.S. Postal Service Sent A Letter To 46 States And D.C. Warning That They Cannot Guarantee That All Ballots Will Be Delivered In Time For The November Election And That The Delay May Disqualify People’s Votes. “Anticipating an avalanche of absentee ballots, the U.S. Postal Service recently sent detailed letters to 46 states and D.C. warning that it cannot guarantee all ballots cast by mail for the November election will arrive in time to be counted — adding another layer of uncertainty ahead of the high-stakes presidential contest. The letters sketch a grim possibility for the tens of millions of Americans eligible for a mail-in ballot this fall: Even if people follow all of their state’s election rules, the pace of Postal Service delivery may disqualify their votes.” [Washington Post, 8/14/20]
- Veterans Have Had To Wait Weeks To Receive Necessary Medication. “Texas: A 40% disabled veteran has been waiting two weeks for his sleeping medication. His 90-year-old veteran father waited nearly two weeks for his high blood pressure meds. Tennessee: A former U.S. Army Sgt. says his ‘prescription should have been here by now.’” [Twitter, @GeoffRBennett, 8/16/20]
- In Baltimore County, A Woman “Broke Into Tears” When Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger Met With Constituents To Get Answers On Mail Delays. “For residents in one Baltimore County community, it looks like people gathered outside a post office after too many delays and unanswered calls about missing mail. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) said one woman broke into tears when she saw he had arrived to get answers for the dozens of constituents who had called his office. They had said they were worried about pills that hadn’t been delivered or money that had gone missing.” [Washington Post, 8/15/20]
- Mail-Order Drug Delivery Grew By 21 Percent During Coronavirus Lockdowns. “An increasing number of patients are turning to mail or courier to get their prescription drugs during coronavirus lockdowns. During the last week of March, mail-order prescriptions rose 21% from the previous year to bring their share of the prescription drug market to 5.8%, the highest share in at least 2 years, according to data from SunTrust Robinson Humphrey analyst Gregg Gilbert.” [American Pharmacists Association, 5/13/20]