Protesters gathered outside the Northwest D.C. home of the postmaster general Saturday morning after the U.S. Postal Service warned states that it can't guarantee all ballots cast by mail for the November election will arrive in time to be counted.
Hundreds marched through the streets of Adams Morgan, the neighborhood where Postmaster General Louis DeJoy lives. They staged a high-decibel display of disdain for the postmaster general.
“We need to be expanding, not contracting, the postal service during this pandemic,” protest organizer Patrick Young said.
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He said things like the recent firings and reassigning of top-level postal officials, the dismantling of hundreds of sorting machines, the moving of mailboxes, and the elimination of overtime for postal workers come at the worst possible time when about 40 percent of voters see the mail-in ballot as a safe alternative to standing in line at polling places.
“Attacking the postal service, that vital lifeline, is clearly an attack on the vote,” said Young, of Shut Down DC.
President Donald Trump maintains mail-in voting would be fraught with fraud, and earlier this month DeJoy said the changes will make operations more efficient and capture new revenue.
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Some members of Congress are calling for investigations into DeJoy’s actions.
Some members of the community say they’re caught in the middle with no mail.
D.C. resident Vanessa Robinson knows firsthand the effects of the slowdown of the U.S. mail.
“I got bills from June about two weeks ago,” she said.
She lives close to her neighborhood post office on Southern Avenue.
“And when you look at up top, what’s happening with them and the gentleman who is the postmaster now, it’s real scary for us regular people,” she said.
