Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein has announced that the City of Columbus and other municipalities have filed an amicus brief opposing recent U.S. Postal Service changes that have “slowed critically important mail delivery,” according to a press release from the city attorney’s office.
The brief, filed by 32 local and tribal governments and the Public Rights Project, urges courts in Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania to block the recent USPS changes, which “impede the ability of localities to administer the November election and provide other core governmental services” amid the pandemic.
Starting in July, U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy implemented a number of changes at the postal service that have slowed down mail delivery and will make it harder for vulnerable communities, such
as the elderly and communities of color, to vote by mail and receive essential government services, the attorney’s office says.
The USPS changes and resulting mail delays directly interfere with local and tribal government plans to administer the November election, including by delaying the delivery and receipt of ballots, the brief points out. As a result, many local and tribal governments now must find the funds to assure a safe and reliable election just two months before the election to increase voting hours, secure additional polling locations, and/or add ballot drop boxes. An effort to allow counties more than one drop box is currently underway.
The brief also details the ways that many local governments rely on the mail to provide their residents with essential social services.
“As the brief makes clear, the USPS provides the backbone to so many crucial government services delivered by local and tribal governments,” said Public Rights Project Legal Director Jonathan Miller. “This isn’t just about the upcoming election. The USPS changes undercut the ability of those on the front lines of government committed to serving their communities. They delay needed medications, delivery of
test results, and crucial notices. These politically motivated and totally unnecessary changes harm people’s lives.”
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