Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) labeled the dispute over the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) funding and ability to handle mail-in voting “a crisis for American democracy” ahead of the presidential election.
The Vermont senator told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Congress should bring back both chambers to address the issue and prevent the “undermining” of “American democracy.”
“This, again, is not a debate about the Postal Service alone,” Sanders said. “That’s important. This is about the future of American democracy and whether people have a right to participate.”
“This is a crisis for American democracy,” Sanders added. “We have got to act and act now.”
{mosads}The former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate also accused President Trump of “doing everything he can to suppress the vote” and “make it harder for people to engage in mail-in balloting,” saying the president thinks it will benefit him in the election and calling it an “outrage.”
“So, this is a deliberate effort to defund and destroy the U.S. Postal Service so that people cannot engage in mail-in ballots,” the senator said.
“I hope the American people come together — progressives, moderates, conservatives — to say, ‘Sorry, Mr. President. We may have our disagreements, but in America, we are a democracy. Everybody is going to vote, and we’re not going to let you get away with what you’re doing,’” Sanders added.
Democrats have expressed concerns about the capability of the USPS to handle mail-in voting ballots during a presidential election year and amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Trump campaign has argued, without providing substantial evidence, that mail-in voting opens up the process to fraud.
Reports have circulated that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has made several changes in recent months to delay the postal service’s ability to deliver mail, including the reported decommissioning of hundreds of letter sorting machines.