A Federal Judge upbraided Lawyers for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), Wednesday Nov. 4th, after the Agency Failed to Meet his Election Day Order for Postal Inspectors to Sweep Mail Processing Facilities in More than a Dozen States for Missing Election Ballots.
U.S. District Judge, Emmet Sullivan, said he was “shocked” to learn that USPS Facilities in 12 Postal Districts, including some in Crucial Battleground States of: Arizona; Florida; Georgia; Pennsylvania; Texas; and Wisconsin, had Not been Searched, leaving Authorities unable to Determine whether All Ballots had been Delivered.
“It leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth for the clock to run out — game over,” Sullivan told Government Lawyers during a hastily-called Wednesday hearing in Washington. “I’m not going to forget it, either.”
Sullivan later Adjourned the Hearing, Ordering a USPS Official to Appear later in the Afternoon to Explain why his Order was Disregarded.
However, in Court Filings Wednesday Morning the Postal Service argued it could Not meet Sullivan’s Deadlines for the Early Afternoon sweeps on Election Day, Tuesday, because the Inspectors had been Scheduled to come in Later in the Day. Postal Service Attorneys wrote the Inspectors were Scheduled “to conduct inspections at the most critical time when the vast majority of any ballots processed on Election Day would be on site.”
The Service confirmed its Employees, but Not Postal Inspectors, had thoroughly Searched all Interior and Exterior areas of its 220 Mail Processing Facilities on Election Day, “as part of a longstanding review process in place to ensure that no ballots are left behind.”
On Tuesday in Pennsylvania, those Searches produced a total of 13 Ballots at Two Facilities, the Postal Service said. Three Ballots were Found and Delivered in Johnstown, and 10 in Lancaster.
Sullivan would not be Placated. He Ordered the Postal Service to Conduct another Sweep of its Mail-Processing Facilities in Texas for any Ballots Postmarked on Election Day or Earlier. The Deadline for Mail-in-Ballots in Texas was the Close of Day Wednesday. Sullivan is Overseeing Proceedings in a Lawsuit filed in August by the NAACP and other Groups to Ensure timely Mail Delivery before the Elections.
Sullivan issued the Election Day Order after a Growing Frustration with Reports by the Postal Service that its Delivery Times were Slowing and that it could Not say for sure whether some 300,000 Received Ballots Nationwide had been Delivered.
The Postal Service on Wednesday said “the assumption that there are unaccounted ballots within the Postal Service network is inaccurate.” To Save Time, Ballots were Delivered Directly to Elections Officials and Bypassed the Scanners that normally Track the Mail, Postal Service Spokeswoman, Martha Johnson, said Wednesday. “We remain in close contact with state and local boards of elections and we do not currently have any open issues. Additionally, the Postal Inspection Service has physically inspected all plants that process ballots.”
The Performance of the Postal Service and its Ability to Handle the Huge Surge in Mail-in-Ballots has been at Issue for Months in Lawsuits and Congressional Hearings.
Voter Groups questioned whether Ballots would be Delivered on time given the Global Pandemic, Cost-Cutting Measures Proposed by Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, and the Surge in Mail-in-Ballots.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
No comments:
Post a Comment