The first in an expected flood of lawsuits against the U.S. Postal Service and the Trump administration was filed Monday in federal court in Manhattan over concerns about funding before election day.
Sixteen individuals, including candidates for public office, pleaded guilty Monday to the U.S. Postal Service, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and President Trump in the Southern District of New York, according to court documents.
The lawsuit alleges that Trump and DeJoy “are intent on ensuring that USPS can not provide reliable election mail.” It seeks a court order to enforce adequate funding from the Post Office ahead of the November elections and policies that ensure “absenteeism and other postal votes are treated equally as personal votes” and “adequate staffing and overtime to a record level of postal voting to treat. ”
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This comes on the same day that DeJoy agreed to volunteer to testify before the Review and Reform Committee next week on concerns about operational changes carried out at hundreds of postal services across the country.
“In the midst of a global pandemic, once a century, USPS has become increasingly important to the basic function of our democracy: with the risks of gathering voters in one place, inside, waiting in line and all the same voting machine. “Most states have expanded email voting alternatives to keep their citizens safe,” the lawsuit, filed Monday, states.
“While President Trump himself holds the necessary funding for the Post Office, a flurry of steps taken by DeJoy will all but guarantee that thousands upon thousands (if not millions) of ballots will not usually reach their destinations on time, likely postmarks will miss that are required by state law, and that the volume of election mail that comes in may be weeks delayed. “
According to the submission, about 76% of Americans in November are eligible to send their ballots without an “excuse”. The plaintiffs participated in the trial in their personal capacity.
Among the plaintiffs was Mondaire Jones, a lawyer and Democratic nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 17th Congressional District of New York, representing Rockland and Westchester counties.
Others included Senator Alessandra Biaggi, New York State, a Democrat in a district representing the Bronx and Westchester, and two Democratic candidates for the New York State Assembly: Chris Burdick, who is trying to represent parts of Westchester County, and Stephanie Keegan , which seeks parts of Putnam and Westchester counties.
Some plaintiffs who were not at the office said they were afraid of traveling and were either too old or sick to get to the polls amid the pandemic. They included a Chicago resident who recently underwent a bone-marrow transplant, a digital film and television colorist who is voting in California, an 85-year-old Suffolk County, New York voter at an assisted living facility, and Mary Winton Green, a 97-year-old retired philanthropist and Cook County, Illinois, voter who first voted in 1944.
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When he left the White House on Monday, Trump denied allegations that he was trying to carry out post-processing.
“Would not do that,” he said. “I have encouraged everyone to speed up the mail, not to delay the mail. And I also want a post office that runs without losing billions and billions of dollars a year.”
Trump last week suggested that widespread e-mails would lead to voter fraud and could cost him the presidency. The lawsuit was filed shortly after MP Nancy Pelosi called the House back in session over the postal service crisis.
Pelosi wants to pass legislation that would ban changes at the bureau after DeJoy launches a nationwide scare over delays, new prices and cuts, just as millions of Americans will start voting by mail to prevent polling stations during the coronavirus outbreak.
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The lawsuit quoted several news outlets and public comments from officials to support their claims that the Postal Service had imposed a hiring ban, banned translation and took rigid measures to prevent steps that would normally improve staff shortages.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
