US Postal Service Delays Raise Concerns About November Election

In June, the US Postal Service underwent controversial cost-cutting measures that include reducing mail deliveries and overtime hours. That has resulted in nationwide mail backlogs, including delays for packages and prescription drugs. 

Monday, President Trump tweeted his support for the organizational changes, writing, "The U.S. Post Office has been failing for many decades. We simply want to MAKE THE POST OFFICE GREAT AGAIN, while at the same time saving billions of dollars a year for American Taxpayers. Dems don't have a clue!"

But some people were concerned that the changes to the post office were really a political ploy 'for' the president, as the service is controlled by presidential appointees, and the postmaster general. 
And Louis DeJoy, the Postmaster General who was installed just three months ago, is a major Trump donor. 

Not lost on anyone is that President Trump has been a vocal critic of mail-in voting for months now. He's recently had to walk back comments he made on Fox News, suggesting that he would reject emergency funding for the post office due to his opposition to mail-in voting.

Due to the pandemic, it is estimated 80 million ballots will be cast by mail this year. Just last week, the US Postal Service warned 46 states, including Ohio, that some voters could be disenfranchised due to state ballot request deadlines being very close to Election Day. 

All that leads to yesterday, when the postmaster general announced that he is suspending the organizational changes until after the election, addressing widespread concern from lawmakers about the delays, and the impact to the election. Also, attornies general from more than 20 states planned to sue the US Postal Service, if the measures weren't stopped. 

On The Sound of Ideas, we'll start by talking about what happened, why it's been stopped, and whether the suspension of changes will ease concerns about whether your vote will be counted. 
And later in the hour, we'll talk about recent changes by the Trump administration to legal immigration services, such as a looming fee increase that could make it harder for people to become naturalized citizens. 

-Taylor Haggerty, Reporter, ideastream

- Jen Miller, Executive Director, League of Women Voters of Ohio

-Erin Cox, Politics Reporter, The Washington Post