In recent months, President Trump has been trying to delegitimize the practice of mail-in ballots, which are exactly the same as absentee ballots and which the President himself has engaged in (opens in new tab). While there is no evidence to support that mail-in ballots are synonymous with vote fraud, the President is not convinced. Therefore, the administration has refused to adequately fund the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in the event of a pandemic, rather than allow citizens to use a more secure alternative to voting in person (opens in new tab).

To be clear, the USPS was suffering financially long before the pandemic (opens in new tab), but by rejecting the President's request to give the Postal Service $25 billion (opens in new tab) as part of the pending second COVID-19 relief bill, the opting not to provide the funds. (This request is not just in response to the postal ballot, but rather to the COVID-19 pandemic.) The Postal Service reportedly originally requested $75 billion (open in new tab) from Congress.

The USPS's internal problems began when Luis DeJoy (open in new tab), a major donor to the Trump campaign, was named Postmaster General in May (open in new tab). Following his promotion, the head of the USPS was abruptly removed, employee overtime was eliminated, and significant cost-cutting measures were implemented, affecting the efficiency of the postal service, including the receipt of postal ballots, and thus the legitimacy of the 2020 election.

DeJoy has previously denied that election mail would be affected by the above measures. He stated (opens in new tab), "We will do everything we can to ensure timely delivery of election mail in a manner consistent with our operating standards." Despite claims to the contrary, "we will not slow down the delivery of election mail or any other mail. Instead, it continues to employ robust and proven processes to ensure proper handling of all election mail. However, conflicting reports continue (open in new tab) about whether the Postal Service's elimination of 10 percent of its letter-sorting machines will ultimately affect the USPS's ability to process overwhelming volumes of mail ballots in the coming months.

On August 16, Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney asked Postmaster General DeJoy (opens in new tab) to testify about the operational changes occurring at the USPS at an Oversight Committee hearing on August 24. This request follows a 10-page letter (opens in new tab) sent on August 14 from Chairman Maloney, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and several others requesting documents and information from DeJoy.

For those who are frustrated with the current state of the USPS and concerned about not receiving their mail-in ballots by the deadline, the following is a summary of the main ways to save the USPS.

The lack of USPS funding not only threatens mail delivery in rural and tribal lands across the U.S. where UPS and Fedex are inaccessible (click here for details (opens in new tab)), but also threatens people's ability to receive the medications they need to survive. In addition, nearly 100,000 military personnel and veterans employed by the USPS (opens in new tab) could lose their jobs.

More than 1.4 million people have signed this Change.org petition (opens in new tab) to save the USPS. You can also find USPS-related signatures here (opens in new tab).

SIGN THE PETITION (opens in new tab)

Call or email your representative.

Congress is in recess from August 10 to September 7, but you can still email your representative and demand action to save the USPS. To send a brief letter to your representative, text "USPS" to 50409. A letter will be sent asking you to support your representative. Maloney's Delivering for America Act (opens in new tab) "prohibits the Postal Service from implementing any changes in operations or service levels implemented on January 1, 2020."

Buy stamps and gifts.

If you can afford it, consider purchasing stamps. The U.S. Postal Service is currently commemorating the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote with a stamp (opens in new tab) featuring an illustration of a historic suffrage woman. But don't forget that black women did not have the same voting rights until the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965, and the USPS also has a gift store where you can shop (opens in new tab). Did someone say USPS merchandise?

BUY STAMPS (opens in new tab)

BUY GIFTS (opens in new tab)

Submit your postal ballot early and request a tracking number.

Voters should submit their mail-in ballots early and request a tracking number (opens in new tab) if possible and pay a few extra dollars to ensure their vote is counted. NOTE: Postal clerks can pick up your ballot from your home mailbox instead of you having to locate an official USPS mailbox.

Support organizations that are fighting to end voter suppression.

Organizations such as Fair Fight Action (open in new tab), When We All Vote (open in new tab), and the ACLU (open in new tab) are actively fighting voter suppression across the country. Support them by donating or getting involved.

FAIR FIGHT ACTION (open in new tab)

WHEN WE ALL VOTE (open in new tab)

ACLU (open in new tab)

Register to vote.

If it wasn't clear before, your vote matters now more than ever. (Opens in a new tab). If you are concerned about the deadlines for registering or submitting your ballot, you can find a full list of voter registration deadlines here (opens in new tab).

Register to Vote (opens in new tab)