The presidential election is less than two months away, and just like in 2020, the postal system may play a pivotal role in determining the outcome.
An NBC News investigation published Thursday found that the slowest mail in the country is in battleground states, many of which have strict deadlines on when ballots can be counted. “It’s a disgrace,” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger told NBC, referencing recent mail delivery issues with the United States Postal Service. “They need to understand the importance [of election mail], and they need to make no more excuses.”
Georgia, a state that Joe Biden narrowly won in 2020, has the worst mail delivery rate in the United States, with only 66 percent of local first-class letters since July being delivered within two days. Less than 40 percent of election mail was delivered on time last spring, according to NBC, with more than 3 percent of all mailed-in votes in the primary elections last year being rejected for arriving late. In 2020, only 0.23 percent of ballots were rejected for being late.
State and local officials from more than 20 states on Wednesday warned that mail delays could result in many votes failing to reach election offices in time to be counted, and urged swift action. In a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, the officials said that mail sent to voters is being marked as undeliverable at above-normal rates.
“State and local election officials need a committed partner in USPS,” the letter states. “We implore you to take immediate and tangible corrective action to address the ongoing performance issues with USPS election mail service. Failure to do so will risk limiting voter participation and trust in the election process.”
In April, DeJoy promised senators to “fix” Georgia’s problems “within 60 days,” but Georgia’s mail performance is still poor five months later. On Monday, DeJoy claimed that the Postal Service was prepared for the coming election, but that didn’t stop Donald Trump Monday night from threatening to sue the USPS in an attempt to discredit mail-in voting.
DeJoy has faced criticism and calls to step down since 2020, after he instituted so-called reforms that he claimed were meant to modernize the postal system but ended up slowing down mail delivery. Critics believe DeJoy is deliberately undermining the Postal Service to push a privatization agenda and have been urging Biden to fire him for years. (This would be difficult to do, but it is not, as some claim, impossible.) In any case, DeJoy’s lack of action has led to mail remaining slower than ever and even getting worse.
In August, Biden nominated former Representative Val Demings and business executive William Zollars to fill two vacant slots on the USPS Board of Governors, which would give the board a Democratic majority and the ability to fire DeJoy. But those appointments, along with the appointment of former Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh in March, have yet to be confirmed by the Senate.
The New Republic’s Alex Pareene argued in 2021 that Biden could break with norms and bypass the Board of Governors to fire DeJoy, but the president has not done so. Now the president’s lack of action could cause chaos in the coming presidential election.
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien isn’t happy that Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized the union for refusing to endorse Kamala Harris for president. On Thursday, in response to her comments, he made the spurious claim that the Teamsters in AOC’s district overwhelmingly support Donald Trump.
Speaking to CNN’s Dana Bash, O’Brien said, “[Ocasio-Cortez] should maybe get into her district, where it voted far-right Republican, and maybe find out what the problem is.”
Bash asked the union president what he meant, to which O’Brien responded, “In our polling, New York, her district, voted overwhelmingly Republican to support former President Trump, so she may want to focus on her job instead of mine.”
.@Teamsters President Sean O’Brien reacts to @AOC attacking Teamsters for refusing to endorse Kamala: She should maybe get into her district — where Teamsters in her district voted overwhelmingly to support President Trump.
So, she may want to focus on her job instead of mine. pic.twitter.com/5jTNukaE7i
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 19, 2024
While that sound bite was highlighted by the Trump campaign on X (formerly Twitter), O’Brien’s statement was quickly disproven by the fact that Teamsters Local 202 in New York’s 14th District in the Bronx endorsed Ocasio-Cortez Thursday, which the congresswoman was happy to post on X herself.
The NY-14 Teamsters mentioned here have actually voted overwhelmingly to endorse Harris-Walz.
Just as Teamsters in Michigan, Nevada, and Pennsylvania have, too.
It’s a big thing to be wrong about.
So let’s set the record straight: Teamsters Local 202 are all in for Harris.💪🏽💙 https://t.co/ZYizRdGwIL pic.twitter.com/UBaoPyUrNm
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 19, 2024
O’Brien’s decision to withhold a presidential endorsement has been met with disapproval from Teamsters local chapters across the country, with several in key battleground states subsequently endorsing the Harris-Walz ticket. After the Teamsters president spoke at the Republican National Convention in July, rank-and-file members spoke from the Democratic National Convention stage to voice their support for Harris. The union’s National Black Caucus also voted unanimously to endorse the vice president.
O’Brien signaled a possible endorsement for Harris after he criticized Donald Trump last month, calling the convicted felon’s remarks to Elon Musk about firing workers for striking and organizing “economic terrorism.” In the end, the Teamsters president has been left embarrassed not only by organized labor’s traditional allies in the Democratic Party but also by his own members.
The Teamsters’ International Union will not be endorsing either candidate for president this election cycle—but that doesn’t mean that the local chapters of the million-plus-member union will be taking the same stance.
On Thursday, several chapters of the Teamsters in key battleground states, including Wisconsin, Michigan, and Nevada, came out in support of Vice President Kamala Harris.
“The Harris-Walz ticket offers a comprehensive vision for America—one that not only prioritizes economic fairness but also stands steadfastly by our nation’s workers,” wrote Michigan Teamsters Joint Council 43 President Kevin Moore in a statement. “Their record and future plans are exactly what our country needs to continue growing and prospering.
“I urge all my Teamster members and fellow citizens to lend their support to this outstanding campaign,” Moore continued. “In conclusion, as a nation we must move forward to protect and grow the middle class. ‘We are not going back’!!!”
Groups in Nevada, California, Hawaii, and Guam also came out in support of Harris, representing a collective 300,000 Teamsters. In a campaign email celebrating the local endorsements, the Harris-Walz ticket acknowledged that Teamsters groups in several other states, including Florida, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, had also backed the Democratic ticket.
Donald Trump, meanwhile, painted the national nonendorsement notice as a win for his campaign, telling reports after the fact that the nothingburger was “a great honor.”
“It’s a great honor,” Trump said during a stop in New York City, reported Fox News. “They’re not going to endorse the Democrats. That’s a big thing.”
Read more about support for Harris:
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are neck and neck in Pennsylvania, an essential swing state.
A Washington Post poll published Wednesday found that Harris is favored by 48 percent of likely and registered voters, while Trump is favored by 47 percent of likely and registered voters.
When third-party candidates are removed, the race becomes even closer, with Harris and Trump in a 47 percent matchup among likely voters, and Harris at 48 percent and Trump at 47 among registered voters.
Twice as many presidential debate watchers said that Harris won the face-off between the two candidates. Fifty-seven percent said that Harris had won, while only 27 percent said Trump. Seventeen percent thought that neither won.
The slim margin between Trump and Harris shows just how competitive this race has become, in a battleground state that was narrowly won the last two cycles: once by Trump in 2016 and then by Joe Biden in 2020.
Following Harris’s strong debate performance, a few other polls placed Harris ahead of Trump in Pennsylvania. The New York Times published a poll Thursday that found her in the lead by four points, at 50 percent, with Trump at 46 percent. A Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday found Harris was leading Trump 51 percent to 45 percent. A Franklin & Marshall College poll found that Harris was in the lead with 49 percent to Trump’s 46 percent.
For Harris, Pennsylvania is key to making it to the White House. If she loses Pennsylvania, she will have to win Georgia and North Carolina if she has any hope of making it to 270 electoral votes, according to Politico.
Trump’s campaign is focusing its energy on thwarting her advances in these three states. The former president has reportedly spent the most on advertising in Pennsylvania, hoping to secure voters in the pivotal state.
In that same vein, Trump has also picked a new town to harass with racist claims that it’s been overrun by Haitian immigrants, and it’s predictably in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. It seems the former president hopes to stir up some grievance-based votes and sow a little chaos along the way.