Postal service crisis

In April 2020 Trevor Potter, the former Chair of the Federal Election Commission stated "there's a real possibility that people will be afraid to vote on Election Day and won't have alternatives" due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[1]

In July 2020, the administration of the United States Postal Service, including a bipartisan Trump-appointed Board of Governors and Board-appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, instituted cost-reducing measures that resulted in slower delivery of mail. This caused fear that, due to the phenomenon of electoral blue shift, Democratic ballots might not be delivered in time to be counted. ^{[2] [3]} Election expert Edward Foley expressed concern that the blue shift phenomenon, along with difficulties caused by conducting an election during a pandemic, could lead to "a perfect storm" in the 2020 presidential election. ^[4] Foley's concern was particularly pronounced due to the fact that incumbent president Donald Trump had not stated whether or not he would accept the results of the election. ^[5]

The following month, Donald Trump stated that he opposed funding USPS because it would enable greater access to mail-in voting. ^[6] Reacting to this sentiment, former President Barack Obama accused Trump of trying to "actively kneecap the Postal Service". ^[7] The Postal Service itself warned voters in 46 states that it could not guarantee that all ballots cast by mail in the 2020 election would arrive in time to be counted. ^[8] For this reason, election experts advocated that postal ballots be mailed weeks in advance of election day. ^[2] Alternatively, Jamelle Bouie of The New York Times argued that Democrats should, if able, vote in person. ^[9]

On September 17, 2020, federal judge Stanley Bastian issued an injunction against the USPS's cost-reducing measures, ruling that Trump and DeJoy were “involved in a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service,” adding that the 14 states requesting the injunction “demonstrated that this attack on the Postal Service is likely to irreparably harm the states’ ability to administer the 2020 general election.” ^[10]

Postal Service performance in the 2020 election

A March 2021 report from the Postal Service's inspector general found that the vast majority of mail-in ballots and registration materials in the 2020 election were delivered to the relevant authorities on time. ^{[11] [12]} The Postal Service handled approximately 135 million pieces of election-related mail between September 1st and November 3rd, delivering 97.9% of ballots from voters to election officials within three days, and 99.89% of ballots within seven days. ^{[11] [13]}

References