USPS Situation May Affect Election
The Claim
Mailboxes and mail sorting machines are being destroyed as an attack on the 2020 presidential election.
News posted on
Emerging story
In mid-August 2020, following operational changes implemented by new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, social media users in the U.S. began speculating about its possible effects on the upcoming presidential election.
However, while many believe that Trump is interfering with the USPS to swing the election, others disagree, calling the claim a "conspiracy theory."
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar's investigation found that in the past week, media outlets have reported mailboxes and mail sorting machines being removed, locked, or thrown away in several major cities. As a result, online speculation that this is a targeted attack on the integrity of the 2020 presidential election has grown.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented idea has been strongly suggested: giving all voters the option to mail in their ballots.
While absentee voting has been practiced regularly in previous presidential elections, President Donald Trump has repeatedly voiced his concerns over large-scale mail in voting. There is little empirical evidence to support his claim that the election is doomed to be fraudulent. As an alternative, President Trump suggested at one point that the election be delayed until the pandemic is resolved. This idea (which is not possible without the full support of Congress) has been widely met with criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike.
Considering the President's remarks and the fact that the Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is an avid Trump supporter, a disturbing conclusion has been suggested: that President Trump is actively attempting to sabotage the 2020 Presidential election. This concern has only been further amplified by the President's refusal to allow for a 25-billion-dollar stimulus to aid the postal service.
We discovered that while it is possible that President Trump is attempting to interfere in the election using the USPS, there is no current way to prove that.
If voters of all kinds were prevented from sending in their ballots, it could feasibly harm Trump’s reelection chances as much as it might help them.
Another option is that the USPS was simply conducting maintenance. Steve Hoherty, a spokesperson for the USPS, has explained that the removals are a normal maintenance procedure for deteriorating equipment. However, because of the enormous public backlash the USPS has announced that these removals will stop for the next 90 days. There is no doubt that mailboxes and mailing facilities will have to be ready for a massive influx of ballots.
What is certain is that the upcoming presidential election is going to be quite messy and will be the topic of heated debate for years to come. With concerns about mail-in votes compounding with reports of political interference from multiple foreign powers, U.S. election paranoia is at an all-time high. Many Americans on all sides of the political spectrum are concerned that one of their most precious values, the democratic process, is very much at risk.
