If Congress enables the U.S. Postal Service to fail– as President Donald Trump appears willing to do– the nation’s ability to hold free, fair elections would be at risk, as would millions of citizens who would be required to go to the surveys during a pandemic if they wished to exercise their rights.
In the 2016 election, 33 million Americans voted through the mail, utilizing either absentee, military or mail-in ballots. Every state prepares for a significant increase in mailed ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic, with anywhere from a doubling of vote-by-mail to a near 100%replacement of in-person voting. All of the states rely on the Postal Service to deliver and return those tallies.
But the Postal Service jobs that the drop in mail volume due to the pandemic could lead it to lack funds in late summertime or early fall. The independent firm is asking Congress for $75 billion in relief financing to keep it afloat, however deals with resistance from Trump.
State election officials– Republicans and Democrats– are participating in the call for the financing to make sure citizens have every choice offered to them to vote in the 2020 elections, provided new social distancing requires originating from the COVID-19 crisis
” America requires Congress to do its part to make sure the really structure on which we conduct our elections does not collapse,” Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos (D) said.
Washington state is one of five states that conducts its elections nearly totally through the mail. If the Postal Service is forced to stop or downsize shipment, it will impact the ability of the s