Summary

The USPS tops the list of American's most essential services during COVID.  Trump, Barr, and DeJoy have been undermining the USPS and mail-in voting with baseless worries of election fraud in a year when it is critical to avoid the health risks of in-person voting due to COVID-19. 

With the Coronavirus pandemic, mail-in voting is expected to be an all time high.  Even Trump and Melania have requested their mail-in ballots.  However, instead of increasing resources to handle the volume, Trump's Postmaster General DeJoy has been dismantling critical USPS infrastructure and reducing resources under the guise of cost-cutting.  As a result, the USPS has warned 46 states and DC that voters could be disenfranchised

DeJoy's effort to cut overtime, remove and destroy 670 critical sorting machines in high volume processing centers, and remove/lock out-going mail options in neighborhoods has already taken a toll.  Millions of Americans depend on USPS to keep their businesses running, pay bills, get paychecks, and receive critical medicine.  It employs 97,000 veterans, one of the largest employers of veterans in the country.

During the election, this will disenfranchise millions of voters by discounting their ballots if they arrive late due to these manufactured USPS delays, regardless of postmark date.

How can you help?

Contact your Representatives, Senators, and State Attorneys General

Reaching out to your reps is the most effective method to enact long lasting positive change for the USPS and protecting your vote. The primary message is to Pass the Delivering for America Act to maintain the operational level of the USPS from the January 1, 2020 standpoint and until the pandemic ends.

• Send a postcard to your rep and senators! Two birds, one stone - support the USPS and contact your reps!
• If you prefer to call, 5 calls can guide you
• Prefer calls, letters, and postcards over email which can get put in spam folders
• Demand they subpoena DeJoy.  If he refuses to show demand he be held in contempt and arrested and fined.
• Ask what their plan is to ensure that every vote is counted
• Demand they fight and message like hell before voting begins and through election day.  American's have a 91% favorability rating towards the USPS - this is a bipartisan issue and they should not be worried about losing votes for fighting for it.
• Need more help on what to say? Indivisible can help
• Follow in the steps of AZ Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and NJ Rep Bill Pascrell who have called for criminal investigations into Trump and DeJoy by their state's Attorneys General. Find your state AG here
• Call them regularly until action is taken

Contact the USPS board of Governors

The USPS board of Governors can halt DeJoy's activities and potentially remove him from office. Board members enjoy relative anonymity and reaching out to them them could go a long way for taking action!

Vote

Please remember to do your own research, for your own state, for your own county, on whether voting in person or receiving your mail in ballot and dropping off in person is best for YOU. The headlines lately have been scary, but please keep your head on straight.

• Plan your vote here or here. There's also a comprehensive google spreadsheet with detailed state by state information all in one place (with a mobile friendly version at GitHub)
• Most states allow early in-person voting!
• If you don't want to vote in person, most states allow mail-in or absentee! You do not have to mail-out your ballot, you can drop it off in person at a local drop box or your local county elections office!
• If you must return your ballot in the mail, the USPS recommends sending at least 1 week before Nov 3rd, but you should return it as early as you are possible to account for compounding USPS delays.
• If you do not receive a ballot in the mail or you later change your mind to vote in person, then most states allow you to still vote in person!
• Follow this guide to ensure the integrity of your vote and others, whether in-person or mail-in!

When you've got your vote planned out, you can also:

• Constantly check your registration and encourage others to do the same
• Become a paid poll worker! You can also help build up r/WorkThePollsUSA as a state-by-state resource of those interested! The Trump Campaign is recruiting 50,000 poll "monitors" across 15 key states to challenge people they think shouldn't vote. Keep them honest!
  
• Register others
• Follow Jennifer Cohn, an attorney and election integrity advocate, covering important developments and information to make your vote count.
• Follow Democracy Docket on court cases and lawsuits across the country regarding your vote.
• Continue to hold your reps and senators and state AG and the USPS board of governors' feet to the fire regarding USPS delays or other lawsuits going on in your area

My personal theory regarding Trump's mail-in voting strategy is at least two-fold:

1. Make dramatic changes to the USPS that scare blue voters away from mail options and back to in-person voting, while keeping it functional enough to still allow red voters the option of mail ballots.
   
2. On election day, claim victory or rigging based on early premature results, and claim rigging as mail-in votes trickle in especially in states that allow mailed ballots to be postmarked.

Directly support efforts for free and fair voting

The Trump Campaign and the RNC are teaming up with a $20 million dollar campaign to suppress votes via 40 lawsuits across 17 states.  In one lawsuit, Republicans allege that PA ballot drop boxes are unconstitutional and that they should be removed for the 2020 general election.

Groups are fighting back and countersuing.  Support their efforts.

https://www.commoncause.org/

https://www.aclu.org/

https://fairfight.com/fair-fight-2020/

https://866ourvote.org/

https://www.whenweallvote.org/

https://votolatino.org/

https://apwu.org/savepostoffice

Sign petitions

• Over 1.5 million have signed the change.org petition to lobby congress to take action. 
• Nearly 500K have signed the Move on petition
• You can also sign a petition by texting USPS to 50409.
• Sign the petition to remove DeJoy

Protest or picket outside the office of your reps

Raise awareness and show your support for the USPS by gathering a group of friends or neighbors, mask up, make signs, and assemble around some popular street corners or outside your reps office to show support and raise awareness. Safe social distancing of course!

Large protests at your local Postal Office are not preferable as they could be distracting for employees or cause issues with delivery.

Buying stamps and merchandise through the USPS

Online retail accounted for 307 million in revenue in 2019 and net operating loss in 2019 was 8.8 billion.  Supporting the postal office through stamps and merchandise won't close the gap but every little bit counts. This is a great way to show support but for a long term solution we must contact our reps.

Money orders cost between $1.25 to $1.75 to make one out. For military personnel it's just 0.45. For people without a bank account this may be a more secure alternative to just saving cash. However, the fee barely covers the cost of work required to process it and this should not be considered an effective action to help increase revenue.

Make your voice heard

Visit https://usmailnotforsale.org, which is a worker-led campaign sponsored by the American Postal Workers Union and the National Association of Letter Carriers.

Put out a yard sign

Make your own or get one online

Send a Card or Letter

r/RandomActsofCards is a place to send or receive cards for anyone who would like one. The purpose of RAoC is to spread a little bit of joy around the world. By doing so you can support the USPS at the same time!

Or, find a r/penpals!

Regarding a General Strike

A general strike (excluding USPS employees) would bring immediate attention to this and other matters and give incredible power to the people for change.  As of now, the closest organized effort with a list of demands is here for a Sept 1st start date and until demands are met.  However, there have been no endorsements by unions that are critical for general strikes to succeed so that "together we are stronger".

Still, if you can protest, and begin striking on Sept 1st, it could lead to a snowball effect and become bigger than we imagined.  Stay optimistic, but remain pragmatic and don't lose your job or livelihood if it remains a disorganized effort without strong endorsements by unions or popular leaders.

Stay informed

Jennifer Cohn is an attorney and election integrity advocate, covering important developments and information to make your vote count.  She has put together a handy list here for ensuring the integrity of your own vote.

Democracy Docket provides analysis and tracks court cases and lawsuits across the country regarding elections.

Follow #SaveThePostOffice, #SaveUSPS, #DontDefundUSPS, #ProtectOurVotes

Share and contribute

Spread the word like fire.  Do not mince words with friends and family and your representatives.  Trump, Barr, and DeJoy are actively subverting the election by crippling the USPS and violating our constitutional right to a free and fair election..

Let me know of more ideas and efforts so this can grow.  Feel free to share without attribution.