Changes to postal service delivery halted until after November election

Contributed By:The 411 News

Yielding to pressure from the Democratic Party, public opinion, and a lawsuit from 21 states, U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced Tuesday that he is halting postal changes until after November's election.

Democrats have raised concerns about the recent slowdowns in mail delivery, since many voters will elect to cast their ballots by mail this November due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"I want to make a few things clear," DeJoy said in a statement. "The Postal Service is ready today to handle whatever volume of election mail it receives this fall. We will deliver the nation’s election mail on time and within our well-established service standards."

"To avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded," DeJoy said.

Retail hours at Post Offices will not change.

Mail processing equipment and blue collection boxes will remain where they are.

No mail processing facilities will be closed.

Postal service employees overtime will continue to be approved as needed.

Starting October 1, DeJoy said, "We will engage standby resources in all areas of our operations, including transportation, to satisfy any unforeseen demand."

President Trump has stoked Democrats fears about the future of postal service. The current coronavirus relief act is stalled because Democrats want some funding to go to the post office. The president said no because it would open the door to fraud with mail-in ballots for November's election.

Today, Pennsylvania joined 20 other states suing the U.S. Postal Service and DeJoy to prevent mail delays that have already left residents across the state unable to access critical services and threatened the vote-by-mail system.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

Story Posted:08/18/2020