 |
Postmaster General David Steiner is taking steps to make sure the United States Postal Service is ready to refuse some people’s mail-in ballots. Under the direction of Steiner, the USPS has finalized a rule and developed a plan — in response to Trump’s executive order attacking vote by mail — that would block election ballots from being delivered to anyone not on a “verified citizenship” list created in part by the Department of Homeland Security. Taking it a step further, PMG Steiner already told Congress that under his new rule, the USPS would not deliver any ballots from states that refuse to comply with these new federal voter-data demands. To be clear, even after a Supreme Court decision added new chaos to the on-going litigation, including on-again off-again injunctions and restraining orders, Steiner’s USPS is blocked from moving forward with this plan to implement Trump’s voter suppression scheme — for now. The bottom line is the Court did not decide whether the Trump administration’s scheme is constitutional. The Postmaster General does not have a green light. Nevertheless Steiner finalized his rule specifically so if the courts give the USPS the opportunity, it can implement the rule immediately. This is a deliberate choice and an extraordinary escalation under Steiner’s watch. Louis DeJoy slowed the mail, raised prices, and sowed election mail chaos before the 2020 election. This is so much worse. Steiner is willing to use the USPS to block millions of people from the ability to even cast their vote. We cannot rely on the courts to protect us. We need sustained grassroots pressure on the Postal Board to overrule the Postmaster, public accountability for Steiner, rapid response when this administration attacks vote-by-mail, and the resources to make sure Steiner and Trump know the public will fight every attempt to interfere with our elections and our Postal Service. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your secure donation will go through immediately: Trump’s broader election scheme depends on federal voter databases created in part by the Department of Homeland Security that have already produced serious errors, labeling thousands of people wrongly as ineligible voters. Trump and Steiner both know no credible investigation has ever found widespread voter fraud or illegal voting, but this has never been about election security like the Trump administration claims. Voting by mail is safe, secure, and convenient. This is just an attempt to use the USPS as a tool to implement a massive voter suppression campaign under the false flag of security. That’s why Trump is still throwing a fit and Steiner is charging ahead. The chaos and confusion all of this is creating fits directly into the plan. And that’s why we’re pressuring the USPS Board of Governors to override the Postmaster General and put an end to this now. Mail in ballots should be sent, picked up, processed, and delivered without political interference. The Save the Post Office Coalition has fought attacks on vote by mail before — and won. We helped stop Trump’s earlier privatization push. We fought DeJoy’s failed leadership and won over and over by mobilizing hundreds of thousands of people to defend the USPS. Now we need to build the same level of pressure against Steiner before his attack on vote by mail becomes the next national crisis. Let’s make sure the postal board knows we’re watching and counting on the Postal Service to deliver. - Annie and the Save the Post Office Coalition Team.
|
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire