What Trump’s postal plot means for Pierce County
When President Trump hired Republican campaign mega-donor Louis DeJoy to run the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) back in May, the newly installed Postmaster General began a massive reorganization at the top level of leadership; swift changes also included implementing a hiring freeze and removing overtime pay for postal workers.
Postmaster General DeJoy didn’t stop there.
Across the U.S., postal boxes were removed from streets or locked up; equipment and machines like the high speed mail sorter at the “Evergreen” Station on South Pine Street in Tacoma were suddenly “retired.”
The Pierce County machine was one of 23 high speed sorters dismantled from facilities across Washington. Tacoma lost five out of its 13 letter-sorting machines.
Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson assured The News Tribune that the loss of Tacoma’s machines was just “unfortunate timing,” adding that her office has known for years the high-speed sorter on South Pine could be dismantled at any time.
Unfortunate timing, indeed.
We’re enduring a once-in-a-century pandemic when many Americans say they’d prefer to vote by mail. This is no time to weaken core democratic infrastructure, especially one that helps voters cast ballots and avoid crowded polling venues.
Lucky for Washington, polling places aren’t an issue. Since 2011, Washington has successfully voted exclusively by mail or ballot box, one of only four states to do so. But these changes will impact the timing of local election results. Pierce County ballots will now be processed in Seattle instead of Tacoma resulting in a counting delay of one day.
When a highly partisan official messes with the USPS months before a presidential election, it should get the attention of government watchdogs. It’s why Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson is leading a coalition of 21 states filing lawsuits against the mail service and DeJoy.
But ask the Trump Administration about the USPS and they’ll describe it as a failing business, one that’s been bleeding red ink for years. Over the last decade USPS reports losing $69 billion. Competition from other delivery services has shrunk demand, but the bulk of USPS’ financial troubles stem from a 2006 federal law requiring the postal service to prefund retirement plans 75 years out.
In the most recent stimulus package, Congress proposed a $25 billion bailout, but President Trump won’t commit to the emergency funding, a move that jeopardizes future elections. The U.S. Postal Service is just that, a service, and not a business; like other government services, it’s purpose is not to make money.
There’s a long list of reasons why USPS should still be valued; millions of Washingtonians rely on it to receive medications, veterans’ benefits, social security checks, and other essential goods and services, but voting remains at the top of that list.
Washington’s Secretary of State Kim Wyman, a Republican, told the Spokesman Review that she and other election officials were preparing for a “very concerning” impact on voting.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called U.S. lawmakers back to Washington for a special House oversight hearing on Monday. The Postmaster General, who’s since shelved his controversial cost-cutting initiatives, will go before a House panel on Monday.
U.S. Congressman Derek Kilmer told constituents on social media that he is eager to vote “yes” on “The Delivering for America Act,” a measure that prevents any change that might degrade delivery standards and potentially impede mail-in voting.
That’s hopeful news for the 30 percent of Pierce County voters who depend on the USPS to return their ballots. As Anderson said, “We consider the U.S. Postal Service an election partner.” And now this partner has been hobbled by recent administrative decisions.
When Benjamin Franklin became the first postmaster general in 1775, mail delivery between Philadelphia and Boston took six weeks; transatlantic mail took months, and though Franklin kept precise accounts of post office revenues and costs, they were not his first concern.
Franklin knew the only way to unite a group of scattered colonies was through communication. It’s why the U.S. Postal Service is embedded in the Constitution and protected by more than 200 federal laws.
The postal service united the country then, and protecting it should unite the country now.
This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 12:00 PM.