Two major controversies over mail-in voting US Postal Service initiates internal investigation
The U.S. Postal Service said on the 14th that the inspectorate of this agency has launched an internal investigation on whether cost-cutting measures have slowed down the timeliness of mail processing, and whether the director’s past political donations have conflicts of interest with postal votes in the presidential election.
Regarding the postal vote in the US presidential election this year, the U.S. Postal Service has gradually become the focus of public opinion. The two major disputes related to the post office and postal voting have attracted much attention.
Data map: On February 29, local time, US Democratic presidential candidate Biden won the fourth leg of the 2020 general election-the South Carolina primary. The picture shows that on February 2, local time, Biden held a rally in Iowa. Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Mengtong
[Controversy 1: Limitation]
U.S. Postal Service Commissioner Louis DeJoey took office in June this year, and subsequently implemented a number of new measures, involving cost reduction and mail delivery order. Some measures have slowed down the processing time for many mails.
With the November 3 presidential election approaching, the importance of e-mail timeliness is particularly prominent. Many American media predict that under the new crown epidemic, about half of voters will choose to vote by mail in order to avoid gatherings. Whether the ballots can be sent back in time and accepted for counting may affect the results of the presidential election.
The Washington Post reported on the 14th that the U.S. Postal Service has sent letters to many state governments to warn voters that they may not have enough time to fill in and return ballots, posing a "significant risk." The Post Office confirmed the content of the report and released the letter later that day, stating that it had been sent to the governments of 46 states and the District of Columbia.
The U.S. Postal Service warned that some states allow voters to apply for ballots to vote by mail within one week of the polling day, and did not allow enough time for printing ballots, sending ballots to voters, and voters returning ballots. This organization suggested that the ballot should be filled out and returned one week before the polling day.
Post Office spokesperson Agapi Dulaveris told reporters that state and local election affairs officials "must take into account our operating standards and recommended timetable."
As of the 14th, the Pennsylvania government has applied to the state Supreme Court, hoping to allow ballots sent back within 3 days after November 3 to still be counted. Most states did not propose to postpone the end of vote counting.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that mail-in voting will encourage election fraud, but no evidence has been produced so far.
Data map: US President Trump.
[Controversy 2: Benefits]
Regarding mail timeliness, Thomas Marshall, the chief attorney of the United States Postal Service, said in a letter sent to Congress on the 14th that election officials are advised to use the more expensive "first-class" mail delivery service, because the timeliness is faster than the cheaper bulk mail service.
This letter caused controversy after being reported by the media. Many media quoted Post Office employees as reporting that in previous US elections, the Post Office gave priority to all political and election mail, regardless of postage.
"If this letter is intended to overturn the promise of cooperation or priority handling of election mail, it will be very worrying." Michigan State Government Department spokesperson Tracey Weimer told reporters.
In addition, U.S. Postal Service Commissioner Dejoy had previously donated to Trump, raising concerns about whether there was a conflict of interest.
Before assuming office, Dejoy had donated about 2.7 million U.S. dollars to Trump and the Republican Party. Some Democratic congressmen asked to investigate whether he had a conflict of interest with the mailed vote. The Post Office spokesman Dulavelis said that the inspector general's office has launched an investigation and "is doing a lot of work" to ease public concerns.
In addition, the Democratic leader of the US Congress sent an open letter to Dejoy on the 14th, asking the latter to explain his reforms to the postal service. Some Democratic congressmen with more radical positions even said that the new measures implemented by Dejoy after taking office are suspected of interfering in the election and that he should initiate a criminal investigation. (Zheng Haoning) (Xinhua News Agency Special Feature)