Two private e-mail services denied the possibility of assisting the U.S. Postal Service in sending mail-in-ballots amid warnings that voters may not be able to complete their election ballots on time.
United Parcel Service (UPS) and FedEx responded Friday to calls on social media asking them to help the Postal Service (USPS) because it is facing an impending financial crisis and “significant” delays in the presidential election of November.
So … UPS … Fedex … great opportunity here. Just offer to deliver every election vote for free … or honor the postage on it … and get it there by election day. You will spend the night the most beloved and respected organization in America. Go on … it’s the right thing to do.
– David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) August 14, 2020
But private companies are technically excluded from handling state elections. USPS, a government agency that “does not receive tax dollars for operating expenses”, is the only service with the legal capacity to validate such documents.
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“State ballots must be postmarked to be considered valid and only the USPS has legal postmarking status. Therefore, UPS, FedEx and other private parties may not be technically involved in sending ballot papers,” UPS said. Reuters in a statement.
FedEx does not accept individual votes, the company said Reuters.
“We advise that customers planning to return their ballot papers through FedEx should check their state guidelines on absentee ballots and voting deadlines as related election documents,” FedEx said.
The calls for help come amid a USPS announcement Friday that it had written to 46 states and Washington, DC, warning that voters may not have enough time to complete their ballots and return before the November 3 election. . The letters add another layer to a worsening situation because USPS is already worried about budget.
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USPS expects an influx of post-vote votes ahead of the election, as many Americans choose to cast their ballots from home because of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. Postal voting is expected to increase to 50 percent of the country, Reuters report.
Newsweek contacted USPS for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
Alexi Rosenfeld / Getty
President Donald Trump has for weeks expressed his disapproval of universal voting for mail-in, claiming it would “cause the biggest fraud in history.” In an interview Thursday, Trump said he did not support the House Democrats’ efforts to secure additional funding for USPS in the next coronavirus relief package.
Democrats are seeking $ 25 billion for the Postal Service and $ 3.5 billion just for election resources for the fall.
“They need that money to run the Post Office so it can take all those millions and millions of votes,” Trump told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Thursday. “If they don’t get those two items, that means you can not have universal mail-in-voice because they are not equipped to have it.”
Many of Trump’s critics took his remarks as evidence that he was deliberately sabotaging postal operations to help him secure a second term, as the majority of supporters of post-vote voters are Democratic voters.
Trump later retracted his remarks, saying in a press release Thursday night that he would not veto additional funding for the USPS, but that securing the money would depend on Democrats and Republicans to reach an agreement in their bill.
“I can understand the Post Office and if we can agree on a general bill, which is obviously a much bigger number than just the Post Office, that would be fine, but they have the Post Office as one of their applications,” Trump said. . “Whether it’s the post office as the $ 3.5 billion for universal post-in-ballots, they are not ready to make a deal. These are two points within a very large deal.”
