The United States Postal Service Board of Governors last week announced the establishment of a bipartisan Election Mail Committee that will actively oversee the United States Postal Service’s support of the mail-in voting process. The committee will be chaired by Governor Lee Moak, who will be joined on the committee by Gov. Ron Bloom and Gov. John Barger.
The Postal Service has a long history of effectively helping Americans participate in elections via mail-in ballots, which are expected to account for less than two percent of all mail volume from mid-September until Election Day. However, because of the ongoing pandemic, many states are anticipating the expanded use of the mail for voting during the upcoming national election, and in some instances are allowing mail-in voting and no-excuse absentee voting for the first time under statute, and each state has unique requirements and deadlines for ballots under state laws.
The Election Mail Committee will use its oversight role to reinforce the strong commitment of the Postal Service to the mail as an important part of the nation’s democratic process, and will regularly monitor execution of USPS’s work on election mail to ensure that our part of this election process is implemented in the most effective way possible.
In a joint statement, the Governors announced:
“The United States Postal Service will play an indispensable role in ensuring that those Americans who wish to vote by mail will be able to do so and have their votes counted. The Governors take our responsibility with the utmost gravity, and we will work to ensure that the Postal Service continues to perform for the American people this election season.
“Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has the full support of the Governors. He was selected to help bring needed changes to the Postal Service, which has experienced over a decade of financial losses and faces the need for fundamental reform. The essential public service functions of the Postal Service must be maintained, and the Postmaster General’s reform initiatives will help ensure that they can be for many years to come.”
The Governors of the U.S. Postal Service:
•Robert M. Duncan, Chairman of the Board
•John M. Barger
•Ron A. Bloom
•Roman Martinez IV
•Donald L. Moak
•William D. Zollars