COVINGTON, Ga. — Newton County’s two congressmen had widely opposing views this week on the Postal Service rift that left the agency’s director calling off planned cost-cutting measures before the November election.
District 4 U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia, and District 10 U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, R-Greensboro, differed on the effect of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s plans that opponents say could threaten delivery of mail-in ballots to election offices by Election Day nationwide.
DeJoy said on Tuesday, Aug. 18, the Postal Service would suspend operational changes until after the 2020 election.
The measures included eliminating overtime for mail carriers, reducing post office hours and removing postal boxes.
Democrats, state attorneys general and civil rights groups had intensely criticized DeJoy’s moves to cut costs — which were supported by President Donald Trump.
But they also had been faulted for slowing mail delivery and criticized as an attempt to disenfranchise voters seeking to vote safely by mail during the coronavirus pandemic, the New York Times reported.
Trump has criticized mail-in voting as a potential source of voter fraud — a claim disputed by state and local election officials nationwide.
Johnson on Tuesday held a press conference outside the Wesley Chapel Post Office in south DeKalb County to announce his support of the Postal Service “as a pillar of our democracy, enshrined in the Constitution and essential for providing critical services” such as delivering prescriptions, Social Security checks, paychecks, tax returns and absentee ballots.
Retired letter carrier Dexter Brown, Georgia AFL-CIO President Charlie Fleming, and members of the American Postal Workers Union were among those attending the event, a press release stated.
“Lives, livelihoods and the life of our American democracy are under threat from the president,” Johnson said.
He said he was supporting legislation which prohibits the Postal Service from implementing any changes to operations or level of service it had in place on Jan. 1, 2020.
“In a time of a pandemic, the Postal Service is ‘Election Central.’ Americans should not have to choose between their health and their vote,” he said.
Hice shared on his Twitter account that, “Democrats' fake outrage over their fabricated ‘crisis’ at (the Postal Service) is shameful.”
“Postmaster General DeJoy tried implementing long overdue reforms at an agency that's lost money for 13 straight years. None of the changes would have impacted the election,” Hice tweeted.
“There is no 'dismantling' of the U.S. Postal Service,” he said.
He said business is “booming” and package volume is “through the roof” for the Postal Service. It has $14 billion in cash on hand, and March to July revenue was $1.2 billion more than the same period in 2019, Hice said.
He said mail-in balloting was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “backdoor plan to implement nationwide ballot harvesting,” Hice said.
“Ballot harvesting” is a reference to some states allowing a third party to collect and return multiple ballots to help elderly and disabled voters cast their ballots.
Republicans have long contended it opens the door for fraud and have fought to restrict it. Their objections have increased as states prepare for more mail-in voting by those with COVID-19 safety concerns.
