Okay, we’ve managed to find ourselves in another government poll in a substantial teacup: Donald Trump is working redundantly to undermine the US Postal Service, just as he does on ballot papers.
It’s a link that just does not make sense.
Like the Los Angeles Times editorial this week: “Attacking the U.S. Postal Service before an election is what a terrorist would do.”
Or, politely, perhaps, if there is something wrong with the Post Office that will prevent it from working efficiently in an election that will clearly depend on e-mail ballots, then do something about it better, not to make less.
Now we’re just waiting to see how much worse, because it’s become clear that “email voting” is the red card Trump will use to challenge the election results.
This week, Trump claimed he has the authority to issue an executive order to stop the use of post-in-votes, whose increasing use, he claims, could increase election fraud and uncertainty. As threatened, his campaign followed Nevada, whose legislature had just given permission to send out mailing forms to all voters in an effort to provide a safe method of voting in a pandemic. The suit alleges that the state violated the constitution by promising to literally count votes after election day, the postmark date for receiving emails, completed ballots – a pretty weak argument in my opinion.
Of course, it is unclear what he could do to limit the distribution of votes, which is regulated by states, including those with Republican rulers. “I have the right to do so,” Trump told White House reporters without explaining how.
Almost all election procedures are governed on a state basis, with the remainder instituted by Congress as enshrined in the Constitution. There is no president or apparent authority for Trump to try to limit the use of post-in-votes by executive order.
The statement came days after he threatened, and then to fall back on, a delay in the November election because of concerns that Republicans will suffer more if more people vote.
Post delayed
In fact, Trump’s campaign against votes could fall through by mail, according to Republican political organizers who are worried about too much of their own party vote.
But in the meantime, perhaps Trump is not aware that the pandemic has prompted an enormous shift in e-mail: delivery of business-oriented mail is down sharply, but deliveries of online purchases are up sharply. In an economy that is shifting to more and more digital business, the very thing that trumped Trump’s era is increasing – fees charged for delivering online purchases are increasing.
When people sit at home shopping, they buy more online and they also receive medicines, checks and other necessary messages through the mail.
Trump has repeatedly paid fees for the delivery as inadequate, although this statement, literally untrue, is believed to be an expression of Trump’s anger at Jeff Bezos, head of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post, whose news report despises Trump. In fact, such fees are the largest source of revenue for the Postal Service.
As a result, he named Louis DeJoy, a Republican lender to take over the top job at the Postal Service in June. DeJoy has taken several moves that have actually delayed mail delivery, including eliminating overtime for hundreds of thousands of mail workers and ordering mail to be stored until the next day when mail distribution centers run late.
In other words, the Trump administration is reducing the situation just as the pandemic is making extensive use of mail messages.
Receiving votes, yes, mail, no.
Oppose Trump’s railing against postal reports, though he has turned himself in over Florida, where he is voting for a vote and where he says procedures are good. Trump sees a difference between absent votes, requested by the voter, and sent votes, which are checked at submission to ensure validity. Trump has called remote voting options the “biggest risk” for his reelection. His campaign and the Republican Party have accused him of fighting the practice, which was once a significant advantage for the GOP.
There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud through mail-in voting, and the states that use it exclusively say they have necessary safeguards in place to ensure that a hostile foreign actor does not disturb the vote. Security experts say voter fraud is rare in all forms of balloting, including by mail.
Indeed, the biggest problem so far is a lack of speed in counting the votes. Some states count when they receive ballots, others only after the designated election day. That seems to mean “fraud” as seen by Trump “delayed results” in real life.
Politico reports that private polls have revealed that Republican voters have become overwhelmed about balloting. A potentially crucial part of Trump’s battlefield base – 15% of Trump voters in Florida, 12% in Pennsylvania and 10% in Michigan – said getting a vote in the post would make them less likely to vote in November. The same is not true for out-prosecuted Democrats. Politico said the interview was part of a flurry of research that sought to gauge swingstate voters’ attitudes as the coronavirus accelerated the use of email voting.
Meanwhile, the House Oversight Committee has asked the new postmaster general to appear at a September hearing to examine operational changes at the Postal Service that are causing delays in postal versions across the country.
Postal officials have warned that they will run out of money at the end of September. The House voted for more money for the Postal Service, as part of the general coronavirus incentive bill, which the House and Republicans have yet to embrace. Congress has approved a $ 10 billion credit line for the Postal Service, but it remains unused amid restrictions imposed by the Trump administration. The bilingual leadership met with DeJoy yesterday to see if any of this makes sense.
If you want to shake up these elections, this seems like a pretty good plan.
