USPS and Democracy
As the SARs-CoV2 virus continues to spread across the United States, forcing Americans into social isolation to protect lives, unprecedented tactics have come into play to accommodate for the upcoming Presidential election in November. Mail-in ballots are expected to be used in record numbers across the country, as citizens stay at home to avoid the risk of contracting the virus. This has placed an enormous amount of pressure on the US Postal Service (USPS), as it will be of paramount importance to the election come November. One would expect that as the USPS and Democracy are synonymous with the American elections, and that the incumbent President would be obliged to uphold the institution. President Trump, however, is not known to follow the usual Presidential obligations, and has acted entirely within character in this instance. He has claimed that the use of the postal vote system will lead to widespread voting fraud, and is biased towards his newly appointed opponent, Democrat Joe Biden, despite no evidence for either claims.
Nepotism at USPS
Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi has called for an additional $25 billion to fund the USPS and make sure mail-in votes are counted on time. These funds have not been accepted by the US Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a businessman and fundraiser for the Republican Party, who was appointed to the role in May. His appointment and rejection of additional funds have been met with widespread protests, and claims that DeJoy was only given the role because of his financial support for and loyalty to the Trump Presidency, not because of his expertise in the postal service. He is the only Postmaster General who has not been an employee of the Postal service prior to his appointment. DeJoy has also made spending cuts to the USPS, and says that votes may not be counted on time as a result. Speaker Pelosi has re-convened the House to vote on a bill to supply the USPS with the $25 billion she and other democrats have proposed. In response to this pressure, DeJoy has reversed his cuts, and says they will commence after the election is concluded.
Trump’s Plan to Upset the Election
The issue here is about more than just the integrity of the US Postal Service, but the integrity of American democracy. In these divisive times, it is difficult to talk about President Trump, his administration, and the statements the President makes without appearing politically biased. But the blatancy of his attempts to undermine democracy for his personal gain are astounding. If there was evidence that mail-in voting had a tendency to be fraudulent, or that it introduced bias into the political system, the President would appear credible in his position that mail-in voting should be limited. However, there is no evidence to suggest any fraud within the mail-in voting system. The only conceivable motive the President could have in his claims, or his appointment of DeJoy as Postmaster General, is to obstruct democracy in his favour. A recent poll has shown that more Democrats plan to vote by mail than Republicans, and any obstructions made to the USPS would adversely affect more Democrats than Republicans. These facts only amplify the misconduct on show in the White House, and show the President’s lack of regard for a mail-in system that he himself has used to vote in the past, and lack of respect for the concept of Democracy.
Could the Republican Tide be Turning?
Trump’s actions and statements on this issue has led many of his own party to turn against him in support of Speaker Pelosi’s funding plans. This follows a recent trend in which Republican politicians are turning from their President and coming out in favour of Biden and the Democrats in the run-up to the election. This is more likely because their respective states and congressional districts are trending towards Biden than their own personal beliefs. Nevertheless, the support is greatly beneficial to Biden and his campaign, which is currently leagues ahead of Trump in the polls.
President in Waiting
If current trends continue, the only reason Joe Biden will lose the election is if Donald Trump cheats his way back into office by rigging the election in his favour through his control of the USPS. Ironically, Trump has said that the only reason Biden will win is because the election is rigged. Regardless, the weeks and months after the election will be profoundly interesting for President Trump, who will undoubtedly experience numerous investigations of misconduct if he wins, or his own tirade of angry tweets and legal action against Joe Biden if he loses.
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