Groups rally across Valley in support of USPS
Several groups gathered at post offices across the Valley on Saturday in support of the United States Postal Service amid calls for changes ahead of the election.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday passed legislation to prevent any further changes at the postal service and to provide $25 billion in funding ahead of an expected surge in mail-in ballots in the November election.
John Nuss, 75, was one of the more than a dozen people gathered outside the downtown Mesa post office Saturday morning. He held up a simple sign that read, “Save the Post Office.”
He cited the longstanding practice of voting by mail in Arizona and called President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about mail-in voting a “scare tactic.”
“I think it’s another way to create discord and distrust,” he said.
To Nuss, it’s about more than voting, though. He relies on the postal service for his prescriptions and to get bills and make payments.
Concerns about the administration’s actions have mounted since June when Louis DeJoy – a major donor to President Donald Trump’s campaign with large financial interests in the Postal Service’s private competitors – became postmaster general.
Trump further fueled Democrats’ fears after indicating in an interview that he opposed additional funds for the USPS, even though that money would be needed to manage the anticipated surge of mailed-in ballots in the fall election from voters seeking to avoid crowded polling places amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump’s comments follow repeated claims that mail-in ballots will lead to widespread voter fraud. Because of this, critics have looked with alarm at the changes, which include cuts to overtime and a ban on “late” or “extra” delivery trips that could delay the mail.
The Mesa rally was 62-year-old Valri Crain’s first protest. She’s practiced civil engagement through the years by calling senators and other representatives but said the postal service issue made her want to do something more.
“It doesn’t matter what party you vote for, it doesn’t matter if you vote or don’t vote — this affects you,” she said.
She hoped that the signs and passion held by those at the rally would inspire passersby to get involved.
“Call your senator and tell them you want the post office funded, you want the politics to stop and you want the post office funded — get your hands off my mail,” she said.
Mother and daughter duo, 63-yearold Liz Tkacik and 23-year-old Stephanie Tkacik, showed up to the protest after only hearing about it on Friday.
“I don’t know what difference I can make, but at least I can show up and support it,” Stephanie Tkacik said.
She accused the president of trying to disenfranchise voters ahead of the November election. Her mother agreed with that statement, calling the president’s actions “totally political.”
The pair have gotten involved with protests for other issues, including Red for Ed and March for Our Lives.
Rallying for the postal service was important enough to them to get them out on the streets again, despite the summer heat and coronavirus pandemic.
“We feel like it’s important, if we can, to try to get out and do this sort of thing because it’s terrible,” Liz Tkacik said. “In two months, I hope it’s a totally different story.”
Phoenix rally draws small crowd, supporters honking in vehicles
Around 15 people were also rallying at a central Phoenix post office near 7th Avenue and Indian School Road Saturday morning. Traffic was heavier there than at the Mesa protest, and dozens of cars honked their support as they drove by the protesters lining the sidewalk.
Adrienna Wilson, 56, held up a sign saying “No More Corruption” and “Save USPS” with a cartoon depiction of the president in jail attire.
She, like others throughout the day, criticized the president’s anti-postal service actions.
“I just worry that we wouldn’t have a fair election,” she said. “I feel that President Trump is trying to destroy the postal service so that our votes won’t count.”
She believes mail-in ballots would be safer this election because of the ongoing pandemic.
She worried that reducing funding or other resources for the postal service could have big implications, particularly for older people such as her 81-yearold mother.
Joe Murphy, 36, called the postal service an “essential service” that is already efficient enough without further modifications.
He cited statistics showing that between 80 and 90% of Arizonans vote by mail, calling it “scary” that some are advocating for changes so soon before a presidential election.
Murphy said he believes most people support the postal service and similarly question the timing of the debate over its efficacy.
“Bringing up this foundation of American society and attacking it does get a lot of people angry, who otherwise wouldn’t really be considering it that much,” he said.
A survey released earlier in the week by the Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape Project found that 46% of Americans are not too confident or not at all confident that the general election will be conducted fairly and accurately.