RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY) — Attorney General Mark R. Herring says he is joining a multistate coalition in filing a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s drastic operational changes at the U.S. Postal Service.
The federal lawsuit claims the Trump administration is threatening critical mail delivery services and could undermine the national election in November.
The coalition’s lawsuit seeks to block the unlawful service reductions and operational changes at the Postal Service.
The Trump Administration’s illegal, hasty changes to the U.S. Postal Service are nothing more than a thinly veiled attack on our democracy and blatant voter suppression. There is absolutely no plausible justification for why these changes were made,” said Attorney General Herring.
“Virginians are having trouble getting life-saving medications, bills and other payments could be late, and other necessary goods might not arrive on time.”
The Postal Service cuts, including eliminating staff overtime, altering operations at state distribution centers and removing critical mail sorting equipment, threaten the timely delivery of mail to individuals who rely on the Postal Service for everything from medical prescriptions to ballots.
The Postal Service also recently notified states that it will end its longstanding practice of processing ballots as first-class mail — regardless of what type of postage is used. States and counties that use marketing or bulk-rate postage for their ballots could experience delays that may prevent some ballots from being counted.
The changes at the Postal Service come as President Donald Trump has continued to baselessly claim that widespread vote-by-mail will lead to a fraudulent election.
The president has also threatened to withhold critical emergency funding for the Postal Service as part of an overall coronavirus relief package currently being negotiated in Congress.
Virginians can vote early at their local registrar’s office or at a satellite voting location starting 45 days before Election Day (September 19) and ending the Saturday before Election Day (October 31).
You do not need to have a reason to vote absentee or fill out an application to vote absentee before voting early in an election.
Once at the registrar’s office or satellite voting location, you must provide your name and address and show an acceptable form of ID or sign an ID Confirmation Statement. Additionally, accessible equipment and/or curbside voting is available upon request.
Virginians can apply online to vote by mail and once you have applied you can check the status to see if your application was received, and whether your ballot was sent and received.
