The US Postal Service is a cherished American institution. It started before we were an independent nation (1775). It is specified in the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 7) to provide trusted universal delivery of private, secure, confidential communications protected by the federal government. It’s a not-for-profit, self-supporting agency that provides services at affordable, uniform prices for everyone in the US.
Now because the corona virus has increased the importance of mail-in voting, the postal service is essential for a safe, fair election. The right of every American citizen to vote is sacrosanct. President Trump has said he wants to slow mail delivery and curb mail-in voting because it increases election fraud. Colorado has had mail-in voting for seven years with no notable fraud. At least six other states have the same experience. Trump apparently thinks mail-in voting will hinder his chances to win re-election. He appointed Louis DeJoy, a sycophantic, servile business owner and major Trump donor, as Post Master General. He has no postal experience.
DeJoy immediately began eliminating overtime pay for postal employees, removing mail sorting machines from postal facilities and removing mail boxes across the nation. The sorting machines are delivery bar code sorters that can process 35,000 pieces of mail per hour. Each of these changes has resulted in slower mail delivery that not only threatens the November election, it has affected timely delivery of essential items, such as medication.
Anything that threatens to disenfranchise American voters is a threat to our democracy. Trump’s blatant attempt to manipulate the election by gradually destroying an historical foundational American institution is un-American, unpatriotic, reprehensible, and intolerable.
BSCRITIC 