COLORADO, USA — A group of states, including Colorado, suing over service cuts at the U.S. Postal Service is asking a federal judge to immediately undo some of them, saying the integrity of the upcoming election is at stake.
In a motion filed late Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Yakima, Wash., the 14 states asked the judge to restore or replace decommissioned sorting machines at processing facilities, to treat election mail as First Class mail, and to end the so-called “leave behind” policy, requiring that postal trucks leave at certain times, whether or not there is additional mail to load.
Nearly 200 Coloradans have reached out to the state's attorney general, letting him know how slowdowns with the mail have personally affected them or their businesses.
A second complementary, multi-state federal lawsuit, led by Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro, was filed in August.
During a rally over changes at post offices in the Denver area, Josh Downey, president of the Denver Area Labor Federation, which represents more than 100 unions including some with the post office, said sorting machines have been removed from post offices.
USPS said there is ample machinery to handle spikes in mail volume.
With elections around the corner, activists said if the USPS does not receive full funding, it could have detrimental outcomes on their mail service.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has said handling election mail is the organization's top priority.
The House approved legislation that would reverse recent changes in USPS operations and send $25 billion to shore up the agency ahead of the November election.
More than two dozen Republicans broke with the president and backed the bill, which passed 257-150. Democrats led approval, but the legislation is certain to stall in the GOP-held Senate. The White House said the president would veto it.
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