Mayors Urge Congress to Act on U.S. Postal Service to Protect Integrity of Election

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today America's mayors are raising alarm with congressional leaders about U.S. postal operations and calling for action to protect people's ability to cast a vote by mail this fall. Recent policy changes at the postal service have slowed mail delivery, threatening the timely delivery and counting of mail-in ballots. In a letter sent to the top four leaders in Congress, 170 bipartisan mayors from 40 states and the District of Columbia are urging lawmakers to take legislative action to protect the integrity of the election, which will require significant mail-in voting amid the coronavirus pandemic. It is the official policy of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) to encourage voter participation as well as expand mail-in balloting in this fall's election. "Given the current and unprecedented public health crisis, we recognize that voting by mail provides a way for citizens to exercise their constitutional rights and responsibilities, without endangering their health and that of their communities," the mayors write.

You can read the full letter to congressional leaders here. In it, the mayors further write:

"As mayors from across the nation, we write to underscore the importance of maintaining the integrity of our elections through a robust vote-by-mail system, and we support legislative action to ensure that the United States Postal Service can support that system.

"Being able to vote and have that vote counted are essential to maintaining and preserving our democracy. Voting stands as one of the most important rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens. The news of recent changes to the U.S. Postal Service's delivery process, coupled with the Administration's decision to withhold funding, is alarming and should be of grave concern to us all, particularly with the General Election only months away. While the Postmaster General's actions to reverse these policies earlier this week were a positive step, we must be vigilant and relentless when it comes to a fair election, especially during these challenging times. The spread of the Coronavirus has already created challenges and uncertainty around our local, state and national electoral processes. We cannot afford further disruption..."

About the United States Conference of Mayors -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are more than 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/usmayors, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/usmayors.

SOURCE U.S. Conference of Mayors