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Statement from President Jonathan Smith on Anti-Voter Executive Order

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From: APWU.org

On March 31, the White House issued Executive Order 14399, titled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.” This executive order would require the United States Postal Service (USPS) to regulate who can receive ballots based on state-specific mail-in voter lists, created by the Department of Homeland Security.

The order contradicts the fundamental purpose of the USPS and its workforce – to provide universal service to all. The Postal Service serves all Americans; it cannot be used as a tool to disenfranchise voters.

Americans have voted by mail since the Civil War, which enabled military service members to vote, even while deployed. Since then, in each election, millions of voters in almost every state cast their ballot through the Postal Service. Voting by mail is a tradition that all Americans can be proud of. Changes to how people vote should not happen by manipulating the Postal Service.

When Congress established today’s public Postal Service in 1970, it purposely made the USPS an independent agency, free from the influence or control of politicians. Congress was explicit that the Postal Service’s purpose is to “bind the Nation together” by providing “prompt, reliable, and efficient services” to all communities. Every day, thousands of postal workers make sure that mission is fulfilled. Yesterday’s executive order threatens that independence and is an unacceptable attempt to politicize the post office.

Our public Postal Service does not block mailers from sending letters or refuse to deliver letters because of those who mailed them. Postal workers take the sanctity of the mail seriously, and every process and policy of the Postal Service ensures that mail is accepted, processed, and delivered, no matter who sent it or where it is going. 

The American public, especially voters who cast their ballots through the U.S. Mail, should know that postal workers follow what we call “extraordinary measures” to ensure that ballots reach their destination promptly and securely.  Any change to those measures or to the fundamental purpose of the Postal Service threatens this critical service provided to every person in the United States, guaranteed by law and the Constitution. 

Senate Introduces Resolution to Oppose USPS Privatization

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On March 27, a bipartisan group in the Senate introduced Senate Resolution (S. Res.) 147, which “expresses the sense of the Senate that Congress should take all appropriate measures to ensure that the United States Postal Service remains an independent establishment of the Federal Government and is not subject to privatization.”

The bipartisan resolution, led by Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Thom Tillis (R-NC), is crucial to demonstrating the strong support of the Senate for the public services that the Postal Service provides across the country, and the critical work that postal workers do every day to bind the nation together.

On Jan. 28, a group in the House of Representatives introduced their own similar bipartisan resolution, H. Res 70, which expresses the House’s support for taking all appropriate measures to ensure that the Postal Service is not subject to privatization. To date, this resolution has 180 co-sponsors.

“This strong showing of bipartisan support from both chambers of Congress confirms what we have always known, that the Post Office is our national treasure, providing invaluable services to the public,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “The essential services we provide as postal workers cannot be replicated in the private sector, and any attempt to privatize the Postal Service would only increase costs and reduce services, which would be harmful to the people and businesses across the country.”

“The APWU extends our deepest appreciation to the senators leading the fight to protect the people’s Postal Service and push back against privatization attempts,” said Legislative and Political Director Judy Beard. “I am asking every APWU member, their families, and community allies to reach out to your senators and encourage them to co-sponsor this resolution.”

Please call APWU’s Legislative Hotline at 1-844-402-1001 to be connected to your senators today, and urge them to cosponsor S. Res. 147, which expressly opposes postal privatization. Defending the people’s public Postal Service from privatization is our top priority in 2025.

  • From APWU.org