Civic groups move forward with lawsuit over Postal Service slowdown

Civic groups said Wednesday they intend to proceed with a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its slowdown of the Postal Service despite the postmaster general’s promise this week to hold off on implementing some new policies until after Election Day.

Common Cause, the League of Women Voters and the National Urban League filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday night, accusing Postmaster General Louis DeJoy of unconstitutionally attempting to sabotage mail-in ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

In a call with reporters Wednesday, the groups said DeJoy’s reversal Tuesday did not sufficiently address their concerns.

“DeJoy’s statement rings hollow in the absence of remedial actions taken to address the damage that he has caused,” said Kristen Clarke, the president of the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which is representing the groups in the lawsuit.

“We seek remedial relief that will bring the United States Postal Service back to the status quo and that can help guarantee that for every day between now and the election, DeJoy will not take any action that will impair the ability of our Postal Service to do its job to timely deliver mail to Americans across the country,” she added.

DeJoy said Tuesday that the Postal Service would not be shutting down any facilities, mailboxes or processing machines in the lead-up to the election.

The announcement came just hours after more than 20 states filed two separate lawsuits against the agency seeking to stop DeJoy’s sweeping changes, which he says are aimed at cost-cutting, ahead of an expected record number of mail-in ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In their lawsuit Tuesday, the nonprofit groups said that DeJoy’s announcement does not remedy the cuts he’s already made nor address other concerns that they have about the administration’s handling of election mail given President Trump’s criticism of mail-in voting.

“This Court’s immediate intervention is needed to protect the Postal Service’s role in the electoral process by ordering relief that will ensure that the Postal Service handles and delivers election mail, including ballots, in a timely manner consistent with its highest operational standards,” they wrote in their lawsuit, which was filed in Maryland’s federal district court.

The Postal Service declined to comment on the suit.

DeJoy will testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Friday and the House Oversight Committee on Monday.