After news broke that the United States Postal Service (USPS) was removing letter collection boxes from streets fewer than 100 days from an election that will likely see more absentee voting than ever before, people began to speak out in protest.
Then by the end of the same day, a USPS spokesperson has stated that the practice will cease in at least 16 states until after the November election, CNN reported .
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The issue came to light on Friday, August 14, with union officials reported the removal of mailboxes and the reduction of post office hours across a number of states.
Citizens and lawmakers throughout the US began to cry foul, noting that in the run-up to such an important election, and in light of other accusations of interference from the Trump Administration, the removal of community collection boxes looked an awful lot like another way to make voting more difficult.
Though the changes were attributed to cost-cutting when the USPS is struggling financially, it’s hard to argue that the timing isn’t questionable.
Rod Spurgeon, a USPS spokesperson for the Western region, got in contact with CNN Friday night with an update.
According to him, his region has decided to stop the practice of removing the blue collection boxes until after the election.
However, he cannot speak for other regions of the country.
Spurgeon’s statement only applies to 16 states: Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Iowa, Alaska, Nebraska, as well as small parts of Wisconsin and Missouri.
A spokesperson based at the USPS headquarters, Kim Frum, would not comment on whether the freeze would be put in place nationwide.
While it seems unlikely that the serious issues plaguing the postal service could be fixed in time for November, there are ways that you can ensure your vote is counted.
If possible, request your ballot early and return it ASAP to avoid any likely delays.
h/t: CNN
Last Updated on August 15, 2020 by Amy Pilkington
