By Jennifer Hibbard, Staff Writer/Editor
CORRUPTION: The Trump administration is denying critical funding to the US Postal Service amid growing fears of voter suppression in the 2020 presidential election.
That old truck with the paint chipping off the standing eagle plastered on its side? That dented blue box covered in stickers that’s always sat on your street corner? One would be forgiven for assuming that a core pillar of our democracy would take on a much more stately appearance. Despite its underwhelming looks, the post office serves a critical purpose: allowing everyone to safely participate in our nation’s elections. However, it could soon be a thing of the past; our current administration is actively working to make it so.
President Trump has repeatedly stated that he opposes funding for the post office in its hour of need, and his apathy toward this issue has continued through the coronavirus pandemic. While billions of dollars were distributed to bail out big corporations across America during the economic recession, there was no help for the struggling post office, an organization that has served this country since the signing of the Constitution in 1787. With Covid-19 ravaging America and taking the lives of over 170,000 citizens, we desperately need the post office to keep voters safe during this election. People should not have to choose between their health and casting their votes, but if the USPS cannot function at its full capacity, that is exactly the choice millions of Americans will face in the coming months.
To justify lulling Congress into inaction, Trump has called the Post Office a “joke” and falsely claimed that mail-in voting through USPS is fraudulent. Many citizens took these statements as proof that the president is denying funding to the post office in order to suppress voting by mail. After all, he has a history of making concerning remarks about the coming election, ranging from his indecision as to whether or not he will accept the results to outright demanding not only a second, but also a third term as president. An attempt to suppress mail-in voting would be only the latest link in a chain of disappointing, but not surprising events.
Doing away with this crucial option infringes upon the voting rights of Americans who do not live near polling places or simply cannot afford to risk catching the coronavirus, which, this year, is most of the nation. Native Americans living on tribal lands, as well as other people in remote locations, will be especially disadvantaged if the US Postal Service shuts down. Many of their communities are not densely populated enough to open up polls, and private delivery services like FedEx and UPS do not deliver to these places. Similarly, without absentee ballots, the elderly and those with preexisting medical conditions may have to abstain from voting because they cannot risk falling ill. This year, these groups only have one practical choice: voting by mail.
Without the post office, the voices of millions of Americans will be silenced this November, and our core beliefs about democracy as a whole – a government of, by, and for the people – will be cast aside. So, no, Mr. President, the US Postal Service is not a “joke.” In fact, we need those rickety trucks and beat-up boxes now more than ever.