Nicole Cardoza Nicole Cardoza Nicole Cardoza Nicole Cardoza

Protect the right to vote by mail. 

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Alright. Buckle up because this one is a wild ride. I don’t know about you, but I hadn’t been following the USPS situation closely until researching this newsletter and wow. Wow. Let’s take a journey through history to fully understand how the struggling U.S. Postal Service and a surge of voting by mail can aggravate disenfranchisement for communities of color.

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By Nicole Cardoza

The Trump administration has expressed repeatedly that there is “tremendous potential” for vote by mail fraud, and Trump himself has gone as far as to suggest postponing the election (Twitter). Although experts say that voting by mail is more vulnerable than voting in person, actual fraudulent incidents are rare. Of those, they have been easily detectable – like the incident during North Carolina’s Ninth Congressional District race in 2018 (NYTimes). Any fraud with the capacity to sway the outcome of a national election would be easy to identify. Five states – Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, and Utah – already conduct elections almost entirely by mail and haven’t recorded significant fraud of note (NCSL). Nevertheless, Republicans and Democrats alike call for more accountability and scrutiny to minimize harm during this unprecedented time.

 

It’s more accurate to argue the “tremendous potential” for vote by mail disenfranchisement than vote by mail fraud. Take the current situation in New York. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo encouraged voters across the state to participate in the June primaries through vote by mail, widely distributing mail-in ballots throughout New York City. But election staffs quickly became overwhelmed with 400,000 mail-in ballots, 10x the number of mailed-in ballots received in previous elections (NYTimes).  Six weeks later, two congressional races remain undecided, and election officials fear that 20% of ballots for New York’s 12th Congressional District will be thrown out, disenfranchising over 100,000 voices (The Intercept). Similar issues in California earlier this year (PBS) and historically in other states raise the same concerns (The Intercept).

 

There are many reasons for a ballot to be thrown out during the counting period. Some are human error: incorrectly filling out forms associated with the ballot, forgetting to sign, or having a signature that doesn’t match their voter registration form. It is important to note that although user-driven, many of these errors disproportionately impact voters of color and language-minority voters (The Intercept). But the focus of today’s newsletter looks at the responsibility of the U.S. Postal Service, which is partially responsible for the issues in New York City. An essential part of mail-in voting relies on delivery dates: depending on the state, ballots can be disqualified if they’re not received by the election deadline, or at least postmarked by that date. In New York, thousands of voters didn’t receive their ballots until the day before the primary. Also, the U.S. Postal Service “had difficulty” processing ballots with their prepaid return envelope, potentially invalidating thousands more (NYTimes). In Michigan, currently preparing for its primary on August 4th, election administrators said they have “fielded complaints from voters who had not yet received their ballots” (Washington Post).

 

The U.S. Postal Service is having a rough 2020. In fact, it’s been having a tough go since the mid-2000s, when consumer habits and economic instability ravaged its revenue. Earnings plummeted as people shifted from mailing letters to sending texts with the rise of mobile devices, and the Great Recession of 2008 obliterated first-class mail volume – a high margin profit source (Washington Post). In 2019, the USPS delivered 31.4% less mail than the year prior. But in contrast, the number of individual mailboxes, P.O. boxes, and other “delivery points” typically grows by 1 million or more each year (Pew Research). Although shipping packages to same-day shipping-obsessed-consumers generates some revenue, the USPS is approximately $160B in debt (Washington Post). 

 

With the situation looking dire earlier this year, the Trump administration appointed Louis DeJoy, a North Carolina businessman and major Trump donor, as the new postmaster general, who immediately created sweeping changes to make the USPS a more viable business model (NPR). These changes include “prohibiting overtime pay, shutting down sorting machines early and requiring letter carriers to leave mail behind when necessary to avoid extra trips or late delivery on routes” (Washington Post). DeJoy made it clear that “if we [USPS] cannot deliver all mail” because of staff shortages, “the mail will not go out,” causing concerns about its accountability to the upcoming election (The Hill).

 

It’s important to note here that the U.S. Postal Service wasn’t designed to be a thriving and flourishing for-profit business like FedEx or UPS, but a public service democratizing access to information – uniting a nation across its vast terrain (Washington Post). This model, though, was made possible by using enslaved people at its start, perpetuating a long legacy of racism and discrimination through inequitable pay and lack of job security through its history. That conversation is for another newsletter (Smithsonian Institute).

 

These changes went into effect mid-July, so let’s look at how these changes are unfolding. Across the U.S., mail service is slowing and inconsistent. In Overbrook, a community in West Philadelphia, mail delivery is taking weeks, forcing citizens to go without paychecks and medicine (Inquirer). Boxes pile up in local offices without the capacity to sort and deliver efficiently. Anonymous supervisors told the Inquirer that they’ve been instructed to leave mail behind and prioritize the delivery of Amazon packages instead (Inquirer). According to Niche, Overbrook’s demographics are 78% African American, which emphasizes a point made by COLORLINES earlier this year: communities of color – particularly in rural communities – are more likely to rely on services the USPS provides, like checks through the mail, money orders, medicine, and necessary resources during COVID-19 (COLORLINES). Consequently, we can expect that they can be disproportionately impacted by voter disenfranchisement as the election nears.

 

And these broad political and economic decisions also burden the postal workers on the ground. Over 630,000 people work at the USPS and represent a more diverse workforce than most of America. 23% of Postal Service workers are black, 11% are Hispanic, and 7% are Asian (Pew Research). These essential workers are critical to our democracy’s future but have less support than they did before the pandemic. Across Philadelphia, at least 133 Postal Service employees have tested positive for the coronavirus since March, and two employees have died (Inquirer). Cases exacerbate the short-staffed individuals, and the lack of overtime may make it impossible for anyone to deliver mail. One carrier is working 90 hours/week and still unable to finish his routes (Inquirer). Conditions worsen as postal workers face angry and frustrated customers on the ground or inside post office facilities. And working conditions are harder with rules like reducing “park points,” or places where carriers park their trucks to walk packages to nearby homes. By decreasing the number of times workers can stop and rest, they’re more likely to be on their feet and exposed to the outdoor environment (Washington Post). 

 

The House Oversight and Reform Committee called a hearing to examine recent changes to the USPS. They’ve asked DeJoy tor his testimony on Sept. 17 to “examine operation changes to the U.S. Postal Service” and “the need for on-time mail delivery during the ongoing pandemic and upcoming election, which as you know may be held largely by mail-in ballot” (The Hill). And as 18 states hold primary elections this month, we’ll have greater insight on how drastically the USPS can affect elections this November. One thing is clear: we must protect our right to vote by mail, especially for those most marginalized, and rethink the role of the U.S. Postal Service so it can continue to serve us fairly and equitably.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • The impact of COVID-19 is encouraging more states to promote vote by mail to participate in upcoming elections

  • The Trump administration continues to note "tremendous potential" for vote by mail fraud, which is factually untrue

  • The USPS, under new leadership, is slowing mail delivery making it more difficult for communities to receive necessary mail, including vote in mail ballots

  • The USPS could play a role in disenfranchising thousands of voters in upcoming elections

  • The shifts at the USPS disproportionately impact communities of color

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