Social media users share photos of blocked mailboxes, and seem to give credit to fears that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will be undermined for the presidential election.
However, there are doubts about whether some of the photos circulated on platforms like Twitter or not.
Meanwhile, others have noted that the practice is not new and that locked mailboxes are not an unsafe attempt to get votes for messages – but to prevent mail theft.
Ricky Davila was among those who shared photos of locked mailboxes. Davila said they were tracked down in Burbank, California, adding that the postmaster general Louis DeJoy of President Donald Trump and the Republican Party were ‘the enemy of the United States.
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There’s enough misinformation spread around the world & I want to erase it where I can. Here is an article that shows that these concerns go back years in this area: https://t.co/i9r29uoFPx
– Ronni Peck – Think Too Much Mom (@thinktoomuchmom) August 17, 2020
Another Twitter user, Ronni Peck, responded to his tweet, saying that mailboxes in Burbank were closed on Sundays and after hours to prevent e-theft.
“This is MY post office! Let me clear this in case you haven’t heard yet: This Burbank post office has locked its zip codes on Sundays / after hours for MONTHS due to theft,” Peck wrote in a tweet on her own account. “This is NOT an election thing.”
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I just drove there. There was a man who took pictures because he saw the inaccurate post on Twitter. I showed him that there were slots on the other side (I have no idea why I called them holes, as English was my 13th language). pic.twitter.com/oM8pnQKHRj
– followed by cursed foot (@zandywithaz) August 17, 2020
She also shared a 2016 article from the Los Angeles Daily News, who reported that officials in the San Fernando Valley had reopened mailboxes to provide evidence as a result of an increase in mail theft.
One method was to fit red lockcaps such as those shown in Davila’s image, while another method was to weld the drop-down door of boxes and replace them with a single lock so that letters in one times can be pressed.
Another Twitter user notes that the mailboxes in Burbank had slots that were open on the other side so that mail could still be deposited.
“This is my post office. These mailboxes are open on the other side, you just have to get out of your car to post them. It’s been like this for months. This is not part of the purge,” the user wrote.
From Seattle, WA. The Postmaster bowed to pressure and said that no more mailboxes will be removed. But now they have done this instead. – This slot is of course specifically designed for a mailbox. It would not fit otherwise. How long has this plot been? pic.twitter.com/GyvyycbCNM
– jvharris_1965 (@ jvharris_1965) August 16, 2020
Before you freak out about locked USPS boxes, here’s a photo I took of the same thing on February 17, 2020 outside the North Hollywood post office after hours. I do not know if it is widespread now, but it is nothing new. pic.twitter.com/nwLTJHqNyX
– Jonathan Badeen (@badeen) August 16, 2020
Another Twitter user shared a picture of a locked mailbox from Seattle, Washington, adding: “This slot was apparently designed specifically for a mailbox. It would not fit otherwise. How long has this plot been?”
Jonathan Badeen, a co-founder of the dating app Tinder, responded to the tweet, writing, “They’ve been using this for a while. I came across one while trying to email in February. years go by between mailing with the USPS I was surprised, but they do this after hours (probably at their more dubious locations). “
In another tweet next to an image of a locked mailbox, Badeen added: “Before you freak out about locked USPS boxes, here’s a photo I took of the same thing on February 17, 2020 outside the North Hollywood post office after hours. Don ‘I know if it’s widespread now, but it’s nothing new. “
A USPS spokesman confirmed that Newsweek that the locks seen in the photos circulating on social media are anti-theft devices.
“The use of Collection Box Anti-theft locking devices, such as at Burbank Post Office, has been in place since about 2016 and this device was developed as a post-theft restriction,” they said.
Offices that have problems with fishing attacks are provided with the devices. The device is placed on the box after the last collection of the day and removed at the beginning of the new working day. On the back of collection boxes there is an opening that customers can use to deposit mail in the collection box. “
Despite not being a new practice, the images highlight a growing concern about voting by mail during the crisis at the USPS, with Second Chamber member Nancy Pelosi announcing on Sunday that she is recalling the House early on the issue.
DeJoy, who was appointed Postmaster-General in June, has caused national outcry over delays, new prices and cuts to the postal service, indicating that it can not expect the millions of ballot papers expected for the November elections. , so that voters can avoid pollen spots and limit the spread of coronavirus.
Scott Olson / Getty Images
Trump, who has unjustifiably claimed that mail-in-ballot leads to fraud, is facing accusations that the sweeping changes are part of a larger plot to “sabotage” the USPS for the elections.
“The life, existence and life of our American democracy are threatened by the president,” Pelosi wrote in a letter to colleagues on Sunday.
“Alarmingly, we see across the nation the devastating effects of the president’s campaign to sabotage the election by manipulating the Postal Service to decipher voters,”
She said DeJoy “was one of the top Trump mega-donors” and “has proven to be a complicated crony as he continues to support by sweeping new operational changes that degrade postal services, slow down the post, and – according to the Postal Service itself – threaten to deny the ability of eligible Americans to cast their votes by mail in the next election. “
She added: “In a time of pandemic, the Postal Service Election is Central. Americans should not have to choose between their health and their voice.
This article has been updated with comments from the USPS.
