Massachusetts House delegation: USPS controversy is meant to rig election

BOSTON — Despite the letter sent out Tuesday by Postmaster General DeJoy, Massachusetts House delegation members say there is still work to be done to make sure this election process is not rigged.

"This is a clear and coordinated attempt to sabotage this agency," said Rep. Ayanna Pressley (MA-7). "We know people of color and veterans are a huge part of the USPS."

On a Zoom call Tuesday, members of the Massachusetts House delegation called on the USPS board of governors to remove Postmaster General Dejoy and replace him with a career postal worker.

“It’s no coincidence my office has been contacted more than 5000 times about this,” said Rep. Lori Trahan (MA-3).

They said recent policy changes like eliminating overtime & decommissioning some letter-sorting machines hinders the agency's ability to accommodate an expected surge in mail-in voting. They say this is President Trump's and the longtime GOP donor's way of admitting fear of what happens if Americans have a fair vote.

"This is what he is leveraging in a very cynical way to suppress the vote and not allow any safer alternative to vote by mail," said Rep. Bill Keating (MA-9).

While Dejoy says he will wait to make changes to USPS until after the election, the house is still voting Saturday’s to provide $25 billion of funding to support USPS.

“I’m just advising my colleagues this fight is not over and we have to do our thing Saturday,” said Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA-8).

They say even if USPS changes impact rural or disenfranchised voters, it is still important both Democrats and Republicans do everything they can to vote.

“Vote early and return those ballots as soon as you get them,” said Rep. Katherine Clark (MA-5). “Make sure you know if there’s a ballot box your community has set up to drop them off or go to your town hall or city hall and drop them off in person.”

Members said they were angry having to spend energy defending the post office during a pandemic but that they do eagerly await Monday when Dejoy will come before the oversight committee to answer questions under oath.

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