Not just the postal service: Trump campaign targeting ballot drop off boxes in battleground states
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Politics
Not just the postal service: Trump campaign targeting ballot drop off boxes in battleground states
August 19, 2020, 3:13 PM EDT
Mail-in primary election ballots are processed at the Chester County Voter Services office in West Chester, Pennsylvania, on May 28: AP Photo / Matt Rourke
The Trump administration has faced heavy criticism this week over accusations that it is intentionally weakening the postal service in an effort to reduce mail-in voting. But an equally consequential battle is taking place in the courts.
Donald Trump ’s campaign for reelection is pursuing legal action to block the use of secure ballot drop-off boxes in the battleground state of Pennsylvania , an action that could foreshadow similar fights across the country.
The lawsuit seeks to prevent the use of the boxes — which voters can use to securely drop off their ballots at locations such as schools or libraries to be collected by election officials — in November’s presidential election.
The move comes amid a surge of requests for mail-in ballots during the coronavirus pandemic, as states seek to expand access to remote voting as a way of protecting against the virus.
But Mr Trump has repeatedly attacked mail-in voting as being vulnerable to fraud — without any evidence — and sought to limit its use.
Voting rights advocates have warned the lawsuit in Pennsylvania is yet another attempt by a president to undermine the democratic process and suppress the vote. In a state that the president won by only 44,000 votes in 2016 — or 0.7 percent of the vote — the stakes are high.
“This lawsuit is part of a strategy to make it harder for eligible voters to vote in November – by introducing confusion, eliminating choices about how to return a mail ballot, and raising meritless questions about the integrity of our elections,” Suzanne Almeida, of voting rights group Common Cause Pennsylvania, told The Independent.
“Drop boxes are a crucial option for voters who receive their absentee ballots too late to return them by mail. Without drop boxes, some people will be forced to choose between their health and their right to vote — and no one should have to make that choice,” she added.
Concerns over the targeting of drop off boxes have been heightened by figures from June’s primary races, which showed that the number of Democrats who chose to vote by mail was more than double that of Republicans — 1 million to 397,000 respectively .
Pennsylvania has introduced a number of voting reforms in the past year to expand mail-in ballots, including the introduction of drop boxes across the state. In other states where the boxes are used, it is not uncommon for half of all mail-in ballots to be delivered through them.
The battle over their use has been given added urgency in recent weeks amid repeated attacks by Mr Trump on mail-in ballots and attempts to hobble the postal service’s ability to handle them.
Once again, we're witnessing a deliberate attempt by the Trump campaign to quell the vote and voice of constituents from across this country
Derrick Johnson, President of the NAACP
In recent weeks, Mr Trump has blocked emergency funding asked for by the USPS deal with an expected increase in voting by mail due to the coronavirus, and even explicitly linked the decision to his desire to limit the use of mail-in ballots in the upcoming election.
Already facing a funding crisis, the postal service was thrown into further chaos by sweeping changes introduced by the new postmaster general Louis DeJoy, a Trump donor who took up the position in May. The new measures caused backlogs of mail in processing across the country, including in Pennsylvania, and raised concerns that the chaos would adversely impact the upcoming election.
Drop boxes were seen as a potential alternative for voters who wanted to use mail-in ballots to vote safely and avoid potential delays in the postal service. And while they are new to Pennsylvania, they have been used across the country, in Democratic and Republican states. In the last presidential election, approximately 16 percent of American voters used drop boxes, most of them concentrated in Washington, Oregon and Colorado.
As more states look to expand their use, they are already becoming a new battleground in the fight over voting access — largely along partisan lines. Ohio’s Republican secretary of state Frank LaRose announced last week that he would ban county election boards from offering more than a single ballot drop box in the pivotal swing state, citing time constraints. Similar actions have been taken in Missouri, too .
And in the past week, they have become a target for Mr Trump.
“Some states use ‘drop boxes’ for the collection of Universal Mail-In Ballots. So who is going to ‘collect’ the Ballots, and what might be done to them prior to tabulation? A Rigged Election? So bad for our Country. Only Absentee Ballots acceptable!” Mr Trump said on Monday.
The Trump campaign’s lawsuit in Pennsylvania, filed at the end of June, claims that election officials in the state “have sacrificed the sanctity of in-person voting at the altar of unmonitored mail-in voting and have exponentially enhanced the threat that fraudulent or otherwise ineligible ballots will be cast and counted in the forthcoming general election.”
Protesters march to the apartment of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in DC on 15 August. President Trump acknowledged he is blocking funds for the US Postal Service to make it more difficult for the agency to handle mail-in ballots for November's presidential election (EPA)
The suit, which is backed by the Republican National Committee and Pennsylvania Republican congressmen Glenn Thompson, Mike Kelly, John Joyce, and Guy Reschenthaler, seeks to prohibit ballot returns to any location other than the county elections office
It argues that permitting the use of drop boxes “allows illegal absent and mail-in voting, ballot harvesting, and other fraud to occur and/or go undetected, and will result in dilution of validly cast ballots.”
But like Mr Trump’s attacks on mail-in ballots, Republicans have been unable to substantiate their dire warnings about voter fraud. The case hit a roadblock last week after a federal judge ruled that the Trump campaign must provide evidence that mail-in ballots and drop boxes are vulnerable to fraud.
“The Court finds that instances of voter fraud are relevant to the claims and defenses in this case,” Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan, a Trump appointee, wrote, adding that “plaintiffs shall produce such evidence in their possession, and if they have none, state as much.”
Earlier this month, a federal court allowed the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania to intervene in the lawsuit on behalf of NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference, Common Cause Pennsylvania and the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania.
The ACLU's filing accuses the Trump campaign of attempting to limit “Pennsylvanians’ constitutionally protected right to vote by preventing the use of ballot drop-off locations.”
Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, said in a statement that a victory for the Trump campaign in the case "has the potential to add another layer of complexity to the voting process in Pennsylvania" in the midst of a pandemic.
“Once again, we're witnessing a deliberate attempt by the Trump campaign to quell the vote and voice of constituents from across this country,” he said. “If we are to have a safe and fair election, mail-in ballots and secure ballot drop boxes must be protected during this unprecedented time."
As more states look to expand the ways in which their residents can vote safely in November’s election, the battle over drop boxes may yet spread across the country.
Republicans are also involved in several legal battles to restrict the expansion of mail-in ballots generally, prompting many states to increase their efforts to encourage residents to vote early.
“Regardless of what happens in the litigation, voters should make a plan to vote, either by mail or in-person, to ensure their voices are heard on election day,” said Ms Almeida, of Common Cause. “Our government ‘of the people’ is stronger and more representative when every voter can participate.”
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Pennsylvania’s department of state declined to comment due to the ongoing litigation.
Tags
Who is online
314 visitors
Mail-in primary election ballots are processed at the Chester County Voter Services office in West Chester, Pennsylvania, on May 28: AP Photo / Matt Rourke
The Trump administration has faced heavy criticism this week over accusations that it is intentionally weakening the postal service in an effort to reduce mail-in voting. But an equally consequential battle is taking place in the courts.
Donald Trump ’s campaign for reelection is pursuing legal action to block the use of secure ballot drop-off boxes in the battleground state of Pennsylvania , an action that could foreshadow similar fights across the country.
The lawsuit seeks to prevent the use of the boxes — which voters can use to securely drop off their ballots at locations such as schools or libraries to be collected by election officials — in November’s presidential election.
The move comes amid a surge of requests for mail-in ballots during the coronavirus pandemic, as states seek to expand access to remote voting as a way of protecting against the virus.
But Mr Trump has repeatedly attacked mail-in voting as being vulnerable to fraud — without any evidence — and sought to limit its use.
Voting rights advocates have warned the lawsuit in Pennsylvania is yet another attempt by a president to undermine the democratic process and suppress the vote. In a state that the president won by only 44,000 votes in 2016 — or 0.7 percent of the vote — the stakes are high.
“This lawsuit is part of a strategy to make it harder for eligible voters to vote in November – by introducing confusion, eliminating choices about how to return a mail ballot, and raising meritless questions about the integrity of our elections,” Suzanne Almeida, of voting rights group Common Cause Pennsylvania, told The Independent.
“Drop boxes are a crucial option for voters who receive their absentee ballots too late to return them by mail. Without drop boxes, some people will be forced to choose between their health and their right to vote — and no one should have to make that choice,” she added.
Concerns over the targeting of drop off boxes have been heightened by figures from June’s primary races, which showed that the number of Democrats who chose to vote by mail was more than double that of Republicans — 1 million to 397,000 respectively .
Pennsylvania has introduced a number of voting reforms in the past year to expand mail-in ballots, including the introduction of drop boxes across the state. In other states where the boxes are used, it is not uncommon for half of all mail-in ballots to be delivered through them.
The battle over their use has been given added urgency in recent weeks amid repeated attacks by Mr Trump on mail-in ballots and attempts to hobble the postal service’s ability to handle them.
Trump does mail in voting so with his stance, he is admitting that he is guilty of fraud himself.
The suit, which is backed by the Republican National Committee and Pennsylvania Republican congressmen Glenn Thompson, Mike Kelly, John Joyce, and Guy Reschenthaler, seeks to prohibit ballot returns to any location other than the county elections office
It argues that permitting the use of drop boxes “allows illegal absent and mail-in voting, ballot harvesting, and other fraud to occur and/or go undetected, and will result in dilution of validly cast ballots.”
But like Mr Trump’s attacks on mail-in ballots, Republicans have been unable to substantiate their dire warnings about voter fraud. The case hit a roadblock last week after a federal judge ruled that the Trump campaign must provide evidence that mail-in ballots and drop boxes are vulnerable to fraud.
“The Court finds that instances of voter fraud are relevant to the claims and defenses in this case,” Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan, a Trump appointee, wrote, adding that “plaintiffs shall produce such evidence in their possession, and if they have none, state as much.”
Earlier this month, a federal court allowed the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania to intervene in the lawsuit on behalf of NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference, Common Cause Pennsylvania and the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania.
The ACLU's filing accuses the Trump campaign of attempting to limit “Pennsylvanians’ constitutionally protected right to vote by preventing the use of ballot drop-off locations.”
The post office is doing just fine and the story linked here is full of falsehoods.
That's absurd. There is plenty of evidence (381 pages long) posted on the White House website.
A SAMPLING OF ELECTION FRAUD CASES FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY
And this is offered as a "sampling."
It is ridiculous to just blithely dismiss security concerns over what will be an unprecedented election with record numbers of mailed-in or dropped-off ballots. The opportunities for fraud are obvious, and the urgent need to dismiss them has the optics of looking like they actually welcome such fraud.
What falsehoods?
So show us from those 381 pages on the White House website proof of this proven fraud.
So nothing to say about the ballot drop boxes? The subject of the seed?
On top of 'kneecapping' the post office and admitting it's to stop mail in voting, he's now limiting ballot boxes and again fraudulently saying that they're open to fraud.
For example:
No, they aren't. Mailboxes get moved all the time by the post office, as the need for them changes, from one place to another. Someone took a picture of it happening the other day and just made up the idea that Trump was taking mailboxes off the street. It's nonsense. But to alleviate these unfounded concerns, the USPS has agreed not to move any more until after the election.
There is no reason to assume anything the post office is doing is politically motivated. There is no particular reason to believe that anything about the post office will somehow benefit Trump in the election. It's conspiracy nonsense.
All you have to do is follow the link and read it. The entire document is nothing but examples of election fraud. Here is the very first one from Alabama (they're arranged alphabetically by state):
That's the first one. All you have to do is keep reading. And you can for a few hundred pages.
I mentioned dropped-off ballots. I guess you didn't read again.
No, they aren't.
Yes, yes they are.
The majority of your comments are sheer nonsense and bullshit and falsehoods. Your example is meaningless. NO falsehoods in the article.
Dejoy is not returning any of the removed mailboxes or sorting machines. That's not conspiracy nonsense.
They're not being 'moved'. They've been 'removed'
And what do you think is done with them? They're stored in a secret warehouse next to the Ark of the Covenant?
No. They're moved from places where they aren't needed to places where they are needed more. It's pretty simple and ordinary.
VERIFY: Are USPS mailboxes being removed from Portland streets?
Now if you have actual evidence that they are being moved for some other purpose, let's see it. Otherwise, it's just a conspiracy rumor.
Here (CA), not only have sorting machines been removed, they have been destroyed. Pallets of mail in the hundreds if not thousands state wide lay unsorted and unprocessed. This I hope results in both the this farce of of a PMG and the orange clown being brought up on federal charges of interfering with the mail.
Under what possible guise could the removal and/or destruction of these sorting machines be justified?
I'm sure someone will ask that question, and I'm dying to hear the answer.
Hey Tacos!, WHERE do YOU LIVE ?
I live about an HOUR from West Chester Pa.
[Deleted] The Court of PA has demanded Trump show proof of his FALSE ACCUSATIONS, and he CANNOT, end of your story.
"Hey Tacos!, WHERE do YOU LIVE ?
I live about an HOUR from West Chester Pa.
You seem to be an authority on my state, so put up some evidence, Removed for context - sandy The Court of PA has demanded Trump show proof of his FALSE ACCUSATIONS, and he CANNOT, end of your story."
First of all, where I live is none of your business and I couldn't care less where you live.
Second, I never said a word about Pennsylvania.
Third, don't talk to me like that. If you can't speak to me with civility, don't bother speaking to me at all. I addressed no comments to you and your rude attack is completely unprovoked.
No, they are not being "removed", your statements to the contrary are false
Perhaps the drop in actual mail (not packages) since the virus was delivered by China via Europe. They may be collecting dust for all we know. At least they can get scrap value for the machines. The USPS isn't known for frugality.
As this schmuck is a total Trumpbot, when he is told to jump by Hair Hitler, he only asks "How high?" That is his justification. I pray to God that he gets busted and jailed for interfering with the US Mail, which is a felony.
Local governments control the drop boxes, not the Feds. Trump has no say so in the matter.
Trumpian philosophy might mean--'no ballot boxes=no ballots', but the American people will find a way.
Besides, breaking news today has brought money laundering back into the conversation. Could well be that Trump's new and biggest worry, money laundering, will relegate ballot boxes into a lower tier.
Trump has many worries---all of them because of him.
From an above #4 comment about falsehoods: Trumpism is bred with falsehoods.
It is time for the federal marshals to step in and gather up all the boxes and have independent contractors reinstall them. Also, all recycling facilities need to be put on notice that if they are caught melting even one mailbox down, they will have their business door locked. Trump and his butt buddy need to learn they are but two people where we are millions strong and we won't stand for their bs.
Link?
“Nationally the number of collection boxes declined by more than 12,000 in the past five years,” an August 2016 report said. “Some customers have complained the Postal Service has gone too far and removed most collection boxes, except those at the Post Office. In addition, they have questioned whether any cost savings result from collection box removals.”
The same report revealed that in a 17-month period during Obama’s second term, hundreds of mailboxes were removed without following the appropriate process, as “322 out-of-service boxes were permanently removed from the street without Eastern Area approval or public notification to customers.”
At the same time, that report and another from September 2017 show that there are good reasons for eliminating mailboxes, such as underuse, and that even more mailboxes should have been removed over the years, which would have saved the government hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. The five-year total of 12,000 removed mailboxes jumped to 14,000 in the 2017 report.
We had a Blue box on the corner of my Mom's street since 1950.
A couple years ago , it was removed and they started putting them at the Acme until there were 4 or 5 lined up.
( always filled to the top )
The neighbors protested and they actually installed a new mail box recently ( the old one was a rusty mess anyway).
All of the homes original front doors had mail slots. Years ago you could get a screen door with a mail slot also.
Those days are gone and people have added small mail boxes next to the front door where the carrier
can collect outgoing mail ( they are not supposed to ) and leave incoming mail.
As a result of the new "returned" mail box which serves hundreds of row homes nearby, the carriers are "prohibited"
to collect mail from the individual homes. ( but they still do it for the older folks ).
When I decided to change my mailbox from the porch drop to a cute little barn one at the front corner of my house, I asked my mailman it it was ok. He told me that I could move it forward from the other location as far as I wanted. But it seems, by law, that you can't move it backwards (ie - back porch).
To all of you who point the finger at Mr. Trump for the USPS actions................
Okay cue the "he's a trumptard" bullshit. It is expected
We will see no evidence that Trump has any connection to anything going on with mailboxes or USPS practices. Nevertheless, the accusations will fly and will be spoken as if they are facts.
Other than admitting it you mean?
Is it really so terrible that people making accusations might be asked to back them up with a little evidence?
No accusations. Facts.
Then back it up......................................This bullshit has been going on for days now. "Trump doesn't want mail in voting" which may be true but he didn't fuck around with the USPS. If you have facts, bring it
Of course he did. No need to supply proof of the truth.
[Deleted]
[Deleted]
Mailboxes that only receive/collect 25 pieces a day are by PO policy removed or relocated, regardless of who is the POTUS.
From 2011 to 2016, 12,000 boxes were removed from service according to the Post Office Inspector General blog. (09/09/2016)
Maybe, maybe not. The Post Master General position was a cabinet position until 1970. Many people who watch Mr. Trump and Mr. DeJoy will no doubt see their many meetings as some sort of conspiracy based on the President's almost constant criticism of the Post Office.
“If we don’t make a deal, that means they don’t get the money,” Trump told host Maria Bartiromo on Thursday. “ That means they can’t have universal mail-in voting; they just can’t have it.”
Why would this specifically help Trump?
Is it to disenfranchise specific populations?
It seems to me that the people most likely to want to avoid infection at the polling place would be old people as they are the most vulnerable. It also seems to me that the older demographic is more likely to vote Republican than less threatened groups. At least it has been that way historically. So removing mailboxes and ballot boxes should hurt Trump, not help him.
Or maybe not. I know plenty of elderly voters don't like Trump. So if it's not old people, who's vote is Trump trying to eliminate?
Is it that it's location and politics that matters? And only Democrat mailboxes are being picked up? So why aren't all the mailboxes in San Francisco and New York City disappearing?
Come on people! Flesh out and explain this conspiracy theory so us mere dummies can understand how it's supposed to work.
Regarding drop boxes which is the main focus of this seed, and not mailboxes, where tRump and Dejoy have already done their damage
“Drop boxes are a crucial option for voters who receive their absentee ballots too late to return them by mail. Without drop boxes, some people will be forced to choose between their health and their right to vote — and no one should have to make that choice,” she added.
Concerns over the targeting of drop off boxes have been heightened by figures from June’s primary races, which showed that the number of Democrats who chose to vote by mail was more than double that of Republicans — 1 million to 397,000 respectively .
Pennsylvania has introduced a number of voting reforms in the past year to expand mail-in ballots, including the introduction of drop boxes across the state. In other states where the boxes are used, it is not uncommon for half of all mail-in ballots to be delivered through them.
Why should anyone have to do that? This is just another attempt by tRump to stop valid voting.
Well, if someone can come up a better idea, I am all ears. There is a shit load of "why shoulds" out there thanks to Trump, but if no one thinks it is a good idea to step outside of the box to beat him at his own game, okie dokie then.
How about not closing the ballot boxes?
How about NOTHING should be tampered with.
I agree Paula. I'm not here to argue with you.
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politicususa.com%2F2020%2F08%2F21%2Fdejoy-senate-hearing-mailboxes.html%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1PrT3Qt_KAVsbW_Mcveq-e28pWya6T3R_jvPFWJd-CxP0oTtgfXzj9Hj8&h=AT0-I4-A-gw81paFpJPk2R98gxG1M6IVc9-7-IUubhqWTR_BlHLmPksuwY-5OTHdx_9_wG1xhCkhf1GdCdVv_xCcmXEklcSk2Lze8RxsGCCo7UEWN8nDTajxQMZW9hxxYEhS&__tn__=%2CmH-y-R&c[0]=AT3W1KEgGqF7QUKEg_BjP2PThzCq6EKkm26XRz1Qpkk8i5XpUyk4k1lbBXcVgfVqY3eMadeaiMsrcsBT08NA7SVkfYN8StxT366PN3N8c4JWeU_RafKiQjDAHoNH-snkCYxd9NgAbs_bgAE_1l0409-PnkPY4K_amaQ5ZXUx27HXKljN1q-N3cTouOs0u_kLp3nTptgounv3jyPk2LPWLTJkoU6U2-zUoCt71lpC76K8IQ
DeJoy Falsely Claims He Had No Idea That Mailboxes Were Being Removed
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is making false claims and suggestions that he had no idea that mailboxes and mail sorting machines were being removed.
Over the — today, there is about 140,000 collection boxes out in the — in the Un States. Over the last ten years, about — it averages about 3,500 a year. So 35,000 of them have been removed and it’s a data driven method. I haven’t reviewed it, but every year they look at utilization of post boxes. They look at where they place new post boxes, where communities grow. So 35,000 over ten years. Since my arrival, we moved 700 post — collection boxes. Of which I had no idea that that was a process so I that was a process. When we found out — when I found out about it, we looked at what, you know, what the excitement it was creating so I decided to stop it. And we’ll pick it up after the election.
This is a normal process that’s been around for — since, you know, it’s been around 50 years and over the last ten years we’ve pulled back about 35,000. On the machines, the machines we are speaking about, again, mail volume is dropping. This is a process that I was unaware about. It’s been around for a couple of years now. We evaluate our machine capacity. These machines run about 35% utilization.
The mail volume is, you know, dropping very rapidly. Especially during the COVID crisis. And package volume is growing. And when I spoke with the team when this, too, became — got a lot of airplay, we really are moving these machines out to make room to process packages. We still have hundreds of these machines everywhere, and still not any kind of drain on capacity. And I repeat. Both the collection boxes and this machine close down, I was made aware when everybody else was made aware. It was not a critical issue, you know, within the postal service. This has been going on in every election year, and every year for that matter.
DeJoy is claiming cluelessness , but he is also refusing to bring mailboxes and mail sorting machines back . Even though mail service is slowing, DeJoy is claiming that this is business as usual. Evidence suggests otherwise, and Trump has vowed to slow down the mail to limit mail-in voting.
Again, where exactly did he say this?