Learn other ways to #SaveTheUSPS, aka the United States Postal Service, from Trump’s attempts to cripple it ahead of the November 3, 2020 election.
Yesterday’s OTYCD post covered the need to call your Congressional reps and scream about the fuckery Trump is inflicting on the U.S. postal system ahead of the fall election, and it urged you to recruit friends and family to do the same.
Trump’s fuckery, to date, has been effective enough for the USPS to raise the alarm about processing mail-in ballots.
It is recommending that voters allow at least 15 days to request a ballot to ensure it is postmarked and arrives in time for the November 3, 2020 election (what this means for you: Ask for your ballot as soon as you can and mail it as soon as you can if you need to vote by mail).
It also warned that 46 of the 50 states–all except Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Rhode Island--could experience delivery problems that upend their timetables for receiving and counting postmarked ballots.
This post covers other things you can do to defend and protect the USPS, outside of calling your Congressional representatives (which you’re doing daily until this gets resolved, right?).
Ok, first off: Support U.S. Mail Not For Sale.
It’s a joint effort of the American Postal Workers Union and the National Association of Letter Carriers to defend the USPS and prevent it from being dismantled in favor of private companies that would invariably charge more and write off entire areas of the country as being unprofitable.
See its webpage:
See its About page:
Like it on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/usmailnotforsale/
Follow it on Twitter:
@usmailnotforsale
Also follow the American Postal Workers Union on Twitter:
@APWUNational
And follow and boost these hashtags on Twitter and elsewhere: #SaveTheUSPS, #SaveThePostOffice, #SaveTheUSPostalService
This August 14, 2020 article from The Cut covers several ways to help the USPS and defend the right to vote, generally. If you follow OTYCD, you’re already doing some of these, such as supporting at least one voting rights organization, and buying stamps, and avoiding one (signing petitions). It’s a good summary nonetheless.
The aforementioned article mentions the need to familiarize yourself with absentee ballot deadlines in your home state. We expect to do another chronological series on absentee ballot deadlines, along the lines of the voter registration deadlines series we’ve interrupted to give you #SaveTheUSPS information.
In the meantime, read and bookmark this comprehensive FiveThirtyEight piece on How to Vote in the 2020 Election.
It includes the deadlines for voting early, requesting an absentee ballot, and submitting an absentee ballot in American states and territories.
You can also read and share these articles that show why Trump’s attempt to smear and undermine vote-by-mail is bullshit, and discuss the effects of his attempts to wreck the USPS (note that several of these stories are paywalled):
“It’s the same thing”: Experts baffled by Trump’s misleading distinction between “absentee” and “mail-in” ballots, CNN, July 13, 2020.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/10/politics/fact-check-trump-absentee-versus-mail-ballots/index.html
Voting by mail is the safest, easiest way to vote. Why are so many national Republicans lying about it? Business Insider, August 2, 2020:
https://www.businessinsider.com/voting-by-mail-safe-easy-republicans-lying-about-it-2020-8
Trump’s nonsensical answer about why Florida and apparently no other state can vote by mail safely, Washington Post, August 5. 2020:
Trump is Pushing a False Argument on Vote-By-Mail Fraud. Here Are The Facts. New York Times, August 3, 2020:
Postal Service Warns States It May Not Meet Mail-in Ballot Deadlines, New York Times, August 14, 2020:
Trump’s Attack on the Postal Service is Now a National Emergency, Washington Post opinion piece, August 13, 2020:
The False Narrative of Vote-By-Mail Fraud, the Brennan Center, April 10, 2020:
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/false-narrative-vote-mail-fraud
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