Donald Trump: Hawaii, New Jersey, New York file lawsuit against administration for USPS policy reforms

Because of the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the United States paired with the increasing death toll, the November elections will leave voters to opt to vote by mail in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. But with Donald Trump’s continuous opposition to mail-in voting, three states are now suing his administration for trying to suppress mail-in voting.

BBC reports that the states of Hawaii, New York, and New Jersey are filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration. The cities of New York and San Francisco are also included among the plaintiffs of the lawsuit. They have cited partisan meddling as the cause of delayed mail deliveries, which can put election plans in jeopardy. Democrats claim that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Republican who is also a Trump appointee, and his recent reforms are an attempt by the Republicans to deliberately block mail-in voting.

While DeJoy has denied the allegations made against him and assured that all ballots are delivered to Americans on time, he has overseen mailboxes being removed as well as a cut in overtime pay for postal workers.

In the filing, it claims Trump has openly and deliberately tried to undermine mail-in voting. Trump has repeatedly voiced his opposition to mail-in voting with the claim that it would cause widespread voter fraud. Contrary to his opinion, Trump himself has constantly voted by mail, including several other officials of his administration.

New York Attorney General Letitia James tweeted, “This slowdown is nothing more than a voter suppression tactic, and we will do everything in our power to put a stop to the president’s power grab and ensure every eligible voter has the opportunity to cast a ballot come November.”

Trump’s claims about voter fraud from mail-in voting have constantly been debunked, as experts found that there is no such evidence of widespread voter fraud happening. Related studies have also shown that mail-in voting does not benefit one party over another as it only brings in more people to vote. Politico reports that the intelligence community has also found no evidence of foreign interference in mail-in voting for the upcoming elections.

“We have no information or intelligence that any nation-state threat actor is engaging in any activity to undermine the mail or vote-in ballots,” said an official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.