As the U.S postmaster general announced Tuesday his intention to hold off on controversial operational changes to the postal service ahead of the November election, Vermont is joining a coalition of states in a lawsuit that seeks to ensure that remains the case.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy issued a statement in the afternoon stating he will not be moving forward on several of his proposed changes at the postal service, at least for now.
“To avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail,” the statement read, “I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded.”
Specifically, according to the postmaster general:
- Retail hours at post offices won’t change.
- Mail processing equipment and blue collection will stay where they are.
- No mail processing facilities will be closed.
Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan issued a news release later Tuesday afternoon announcing that the state has joined a host of others in filing the lawsuit in a Washington state federal court.
That lawsuit seeks to prevent Postal Service changes and cost cuts and calls for a more thorough vetting of the proposals before they can be implemented
The suing states say mail service will play a critical role in ensuring access to voting during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“More than one hundred thousand Vermonters requested mail-in ballots for last week’s primary election,” Donovan said in his statement announcing the filing, “and we need our Postal Service fully operational for the general election.”
Donovan said he appreciated the statement Tuesday from the postmaster general, “but we will verify it through the legal process,” he added. “The stakes are too high.”
Last week, the Washington Post reported, the Postal Service notified nearly every state that it couldn’t ensure mail-in ballots would arrive at their destination to permit them to count toward the General Election in November.
Vermont Secretary of State James Condos told VTDigger earlier this week that his office “will monitor the situation and adjust as needed.”
The lawsuit brought by the states is led by Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
In addition to Vermont and Washington other states joining the lawsuit include Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia and Wisconsin.
“A decrease in operational capability and delays in processing and delivery would disenfranchise voters,” the lawsuit stated. “Voters may not receive voter registration applications or ballots on time.”
All the states involved in the legal action are represented by Democratic attorneys general, according to the Washington Post, which was the first news organization to report on the filing.
The lawsuit alleged that Republican President Donald Trump is seeking to sabotage plans for mail-on voting for the general election and had a role in orchestrating the mail slowdown by naming DeJoy, a loyalist and big-time donor, to the postmaster general post.
Trump has countered that the cost-cutting moves are aimed at keeping the Postal Service afloat financially.
Trump tweeted Monday, “SAVE THE POST OFFICE!”
Donovan tweeted back to the president early Tuesday afternoon: “We will. We are suing your administration to stop your action.”
We will. We are suing your administration to stop your actions. https://t.co/rbWw6RiryN
— AG TJ Donovan (@TJforVermont) August 18, 2020
Read the story on VTDigger here: Postmaster general delays changes as Vermont, other states, bring suit.