Postal Service warns of mail voting delays

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service is warning states, including California, that it cannot guarantee all ballots cast by mail for the November election will arrive in time to be counted, even if mailed by state deadlines, raising the possibility that millions of voters could be disenfranchised.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said in a letter to Democratic congressional leaders that his agency is merely “asking elected officials and voters to realistically consider how the mail works, and be mindful of our delivery standards, in order to provide voters ample time to cast ballots through the mail.”

The warning letters were first reported by the Washington Post.

The development comes amid a vigorous campaign by President Trump to sow doubts about mailin voting as he faces a difficult fight for reelection against Democrat Joe Biden.

Though Trump and many of his top aides cast their own ballots by mail, he has repeatedly criticized efforts to allow more people to do so, which he argues, without evidence, will lead to increased voter fraud that could cost him the election. Meanwhile, members of Congress from both parties have voiced concerns that curbside mailboxes, which is how many will cast their ballots, have abruptly been removed in some states.

At the same time that the need for timely delivery of the mail is peaking, service has been curtailed amid costcutting measures ordered by the DeJoy, a former supplychain CEO and a financial supporter of Trump. He has implemented measures to eliminate overtime pay and hold mail over if distribution centers are running late.

The Post Office released letters it sent to all 50 states on its website. While some states with permissive votebymail laws were given a less stringent warning, the majority with more restrictive requirements that limit when a ballot must be cast were told the situation was more dire. The laws, the letters said, create a “risk that ballots requested near the deadline under state law will not be returned by mail in time to be counted.“

Many state officials criticized the move.

“This is a deeply troubling development in what is becoming a clear pattern of attempted voter suppression by the Trump administration,” Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said.