Trump VS. The Post Office

Written on August 20th, 2020

The views expressed in this post are purely my own personal opinions.

Trump's reign in power is bringing him closer to creating a world of fascism the longer he stays in office. Take all the things that have happened over the past few months. The Portland Protests where Trump sent Federal Officers to "restore peace." That major scare when Trump almost deleted the very popular social media platform TikTok all because Gen Z might have messed with his rallies. Now, Trump is blocking United States Postal Service funding to undercut votes by mail because he wants to raise the chances of chaos surrounding the election in November. Trump is doing everything in his power to heighten his chances of winning the election in November which includes keeping Americans from using their voice to vote.

So why exactly is this happening?

A major reason this is happening is because of the current post master general, Louis DeJoy, who happens to be a major donor to President Trump's campaign. There is no way that Trump could just tell the Post Office to stop casting mail-in ballots if the post master general happened to be a democrat (or at least there would be a much bigger fight to keep that from happening). But since the post master general happens to be a major donor to President Trump's campaign, I guess they could rub their hands together maliciously and "sabotage" the election. Also, Trump has rallied multiple times against mail-in ballots for the November election calling them "unsafe and untrustworthy." He believes that mail-in ballots are linked to voting fraud. However, it is actually incredibly rare for that to happen says Brennan Center.

What does this mean for the people dependent on mail-in votes?

First of all, more then 80 million people are supposed to cast their ballot through mail-in voting this fall. That includes myself and all of my state. I would be devastated if I never got my vote counted this fall because I have been waiting years to finally start voting. Voting is a constitutional right and now that I am 18, I intend to use that right if it means I have a say in who gets to run our country. Also, we are in the middle of a global pandemic and some Americans are choosing not to go to the polling places in order to protect themselves from COVID-19. The Postal Service has let almost all 50 states know it is not guaranteed ballots will reach voters before the election. USPS mailboxes are being locked; some they have gotten rid of entirely. This is prompting fear that ballots will not reach the election offices in time if the issues are not corrected before November. The president of the American Postal Workers Union spoke on behalf of all postal workers. "Postal workers in general – are absolutely opposed to any policies that just slow down the mail in the name of whatever the name is – cost-cutting, in this case. It's about service. It's not the United States postal business. It's the United States Postal Service."

What happens now?

On Tuesday, the post master general said he will suspend any changes until after the election to "avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail.” However, it doesn't look like he will be replacing the mailboxes that have "disappeared" anytime soon. Instead of relying on the USPS, some states are looking toward using drop boxes to turn in votes, but Trump opposes that idea as well. Louis DeJoy is expected to testify before the Senate and the House Democrats are passing an emergency bill that would put changes to the post office on hold as well as deliver USPS a $25 million infusion in cash. There are still many worries about the effectiveness on mail-in delivery of ballots and what this will mean for the voting turnout of the 2020 election.

So what can you do to help?

You can buy stamps! Did you know that the USPS is seriously funded off of its supplies such as stamps, envelopes and other mailing supplies? Stamps make nice collectables. My dad has collected stamps since he was a kid and now they are worth more than they were before he bought them. You don't even have to use them, you just need to buy them in order to fund the post office. You can do so by ordering them on the USPS website. Or if you are desperate to get out of the house, drive to your local post office and purchase stamps there.

You can also sign petitions on change.org and join activism groups such as savethepostoffice.com to gather more insight on the situation at hand and to help make a change. But the most important thing you can do... spread the word. That is exactly what I am doing with this post and it is what I encourage you to do so as well. We know from experience all throughout this year that spreading the word promotes change.

How do I make sure that my vote is counted this election?

Vote early! If you live in a state where you can vote in person, then vote in person up to 45 days before the election. You can do this at various poll locations or at election offices on or before Election Day. Also, regardless of what Trump says, states are still doing ballot drop off boxes with the whole USPS fiasco going on. Use this option to avoid having to use the mail. And to all my fellow mail-in only voters... let us hope and pray that our vote gets counted on Election Day.

Sources:

Bauer, Elizabeth. “Separating Fact From Fiction On Trump And The Post Office - And Why It Matters.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 16 Aug. 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/ebauer/2020/08/16/separating-fact-from-fiction-on-trump-and-the-post-officeand-why-it-matters/#2ad098853d74.

Behrmann, Savannah. “What's Going on with the Post Office? Here's What We Know.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 17 Aug. 2020, www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/08/13/us-postal-service-whats-going-post-office-what-we-know/3360565001/.

Colby, Clifford. “USPS Crisis: Why Mail Is Delayed, How It Affects the Election and What's Being Done about It.” CNET, CNET, 19 Aug. 2020, www.cnet.com/how-to/usps-crisis-why-mail-is-delayed-how-it-affects-the-election-and-whats-being-done-about-it/.

Kirby, Jen. “Postmaster General Hits Pause on USPS Changes until after Election amid Public Outcry.” Vox, Vox, 18 Aug. 2020, www.vox.com/2020/8/18/21374014/post-office-usps-louis-dejoy-statement-trump-mail-in-voting.

Levine, Sam. “Trump's USPS Attacks Are Already Undermining Confidence in Vote by Mail.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 20 Aug. 2020, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/20/trump-usps-attacks-vote-by-mail-confidence.

Zara, Christopher. “How to Help the Post Office: Things You Can Do to Support the USPS Right Now.” Fast Company, Fast Company, 14 Aug. 2020, www.fastcompany.com/90540238/how-to-help-the-post-office-things-you-can-do-to-support-the-usps-right-now.