- Louis DeJoy, the postmaster general for the US Postal Service, will be featured in a public service announcement assuring Americans that voting by mail is safe, CNN reported on Wednesday.
- It is not yet clear what the exact language of the PSA will be, but asserting that mail-in voting is safe would directly contradict President Donald Trump's false claim that voters mailing in their ballots encourages fraud.
- The USPS and DeJoy have been criticized for cost-cutting measures taken in recent weeks, like canceling overtime for mail carriers, cutting post office hours and removing some mail-sorting machines.
- The measures have stirred suspicions about DeJoy, a Republican donor, ahead of the November presidential election.
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US Postal Service Postmaster General Louis DeJoy will be featured in a public service announcement designed to assure Americans that voting by mail is safe, CNN reported on Wednesday.
It is not yet clear what the exact language of the PSA will be, but asserting that mail-in voting is safe would directly contradict President Donald Trump's false claim that voters mailing in their ballots encourages fraud.
DeJoy has been under scrutiny in recent weeks because of several cost-cutting measures he implemented at the postal service, including removing hundreds of high-volume mail-sorting machines across the country.
Other changes include the removal of some mail collection boxes, canceling overtime for mail carriers, and cutting post office hours. All of this has happened while Trump has publicly attacked the postal service and mail-in voting on an almost-daily basis. The moves have stirred suspicions that Trump is trying to sabotage mail-in-voting ahead of the November presidential election.
Earlier this week, prominent Democrats in the House and Senate demanded DeJoy and other USPS officials testify before the House Oversight Committee on August 24 at an "urgent" hearing, Business Insider reported.
"The hearing will examine the sweeping operational and organizational changes at the Postal Service that experts warn could degrade delivery standards, slow the mail and potentially impair the rights of eligible Americans to cast their votes through the mail in the upcoming November elections," the Sunday statement read.
There's been growing outrage over USPS delays and widespread concern about the upcoming election. The USPS last month sent letters to 46 states and Washington DC warning that they might not be able to deliver mail-in-ballots in time to be counted, potentially disenfranchising thousands of voters if they don't request their ballots early enough.
On Tuesday, The postmaster-general reversed some of the cost-cutting measures and said the agency would curb the cost-cutting measures until after the election, The Washington Post reported.
Trump has defended the postmaster but also attempted to distance himself from him over the weekend, Business Insider reported.
"I don't know what he's doing," Trump said. "I can only tell you he's a very smart man," and said DeJoy "wants to make the post office great again."
A CNN poll found that 34% of registered voters say they prefer to vote by mail in the upcoming election. However, 66% of Trump supporters said they'd prefer to vote in person, compared to 53% of voters who would rather vote by mail for the Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
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