DeJoy Will Try to Help Trump Again in 2024
As many report significant delays in USPS mail and package delivery, members of Congress are warning about potential problems with November mail-in ballots if something is not done.
The Postal Service implemented a new system last fall that aims to eventually funnel all the nation’s letters and packages through a consolidated network of 60 regional distribution centers. This 10-year strategic plan, called Delivering for America: Our Vision and Ten-Year Plan to Achieve Financial Sustainability and Service Excellence, is part of a network overhaul with a total cost of $40 billion.
While Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has pledged that his signature plan will reduce costs, improve reliability and make the Postal Service more competitive, data clearly shows that this newly implemented program has done just the opposite. At the start of this new initiative, DeJoy promised the USPS would break-even in 2023, but the net loss reported at the end of the 2023 fiscal year in September, totaled $6.5 billion. This loss is shocking compared to the prior year, which yielded a net income of $56.0 billion in 2022.
When announcing its $6.5 billion loss for fiscal year 2023 in November, USPS leadership noted that mail volume had slipped by nearly 9 percent, while package volume decreased by over 2 percent. “These unprecedented postage increases are just driving down mail volume and fueling more fiscal instability for USPS,” said Kevin Yoder, Executive Director of nonprofit advocacy group Keep US Posted.
Another example this inefficiency is the $25 million spent to convert an existing facility near Richmond, Virginia, into one that would serve as a central USPS hub for mail traveling from more than 100 miles away in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Following the roll out of this new system, residents in Richmond began reporting significant disruptions to their mail starting in October 2023. The community pressured local politicians to hold a town hall meeting over the issue for months, but ultimately, the December 2023 forum was cancelled when officials from the postal service declined to attend and speak with residents.
Now a new March 2024 audit of the Richmond facility has shown that in the final three months of 2023, just 66% of mail arrived there on time, which is the worst rate in the country. The report details a lack of staff supervision, employees not working while waiting for the mail to arrive, sloppy handling of the mail, packages scattered around the facility floor, pieces of mail that had fallen under equipment, and 2-month-old mail found sitting in a container in the truck yard.
Delays were also reported as a result of poorly planned vehicle routes, which were being constantly revised. Another factor adding to significant delays included a lack of drivers and vehicles forced to wait while mail was being sorted. The data also revealed that some USPS trucks were leaving the facility with merely a small fraction of the mail they were intended to carry. The extra number of trips to and from the facility that resulted from this lack of organization was an increase of late production by 30%.
Richmond General Registrar Keith Balmer warned residents in February of this year not to send their ballots for the March presidential primary by mail. Blamer instead encouraged people to use a ballot drop box in the city or to vote in person at an early voting location or a polling site on Election Day, rather than using the US mail, saying, “I understand that these issues extend beyond mere inconvenience; they represent a fundamental threat to our democracy.”
In anticipation of the November election, the Postal Service has issued a statement saying that it will “employ a robust and proven process to ensure proper handling and delivery of all Election Mail, including ballots.” Given the amount of money that has already been wasted, and the increased lag time in mail delivery, this does very little to assure voters that their mail-in ballots will be received in time to be counted.
The biggest question often remains: why can’t President Biden fire Louis DeJoy and replace him in his position at the United States Postal Service? Ultimately, the USPS was meant to operate as an independent entity to ensure longevity free from political influence, and was re-organized into an independent branch more than fifty years ago.
The Postmaster General is not a member of the Executive Cabinet and the position is selected by the Board of Governors of the Postal Service, whose members are appointed by the current president with the advice and consent of the Senate. Members of the Board of Governors serve seven year terms and the Postmaster General’s office has no fixed term, which means that DeJoy can serve as long as the Board of Governors approves.
President Biden and Democrats in Congress can attempt to maneuver around Louis DeJoy, but the fact remains: the Postmaster General was instrumental in helping to slow down the mail during the 2020 election, and this year appears to be another dry run to do it again in 2024.
In the months leading up to the 2020 Presidential Election, SHERO published a series of articles attempting to draw attention to the advantage DeJoy was pursuing for Donald Trump by slowing down the mail. Below is a list of those articles for you to review again, as we will no doubt see a similar strategy employed by the Postmaster General this year. The only difference will be that taxpayers have now invested billions more, only to watch their mail service suffer and risk their votes not counting.
Destroy the Post Office, Steal an Election, published on Aug. 7, 2020
Friday Night Massacre at the Post Office, published on Aug. 8, 2020
Will You Vote By Mail? published on Aug. 11, 2020
Trump's Postmaster General has Financial Conflicts, published on Aug. 13, 2020
US Post Office is Removing Ballot Sorting Machines from Facilities, published on Aug. 13, 2020
USPS Warns of PA Ballot Delay; Mailboxes Removed in OR, published on Aug. 14, 2020
Definitive Guide to Trump’s Attempts to Destroy USPS, published on Aug. 18, 2020
DeJoy to Answer to US Senate, published on Aug. 21, 2020
Amee Vanderpool writes the SHERO Newsletter, is an attorney, published author, contributor to newspapers and magazines, and an analyst for BBC radio. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.
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Given that we, currently, have a majority in the Senate, why the heck haven't we deal with this?!
Hasn't President Biden appointed members to the board who could vote to remove DeJoy? It's a travesty that he still has a job with the USPS.