Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service
Postal Service Headquarters
475 L’Enfant Plaza SW
Washington, DC 20260

To the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service,

I write to express my shock and dismay at the steps that have recently been taken by the Postmaster General to neuter the beloved United States Postal Service, on which tens of millions of Americans like me rely and which will serve as the lynchpin for a safe and fair election in November. I am deeply troubled and outraged by reports of slowdowns in mail delivery (which I am personally experiencing); the unexplained deactivation of mail sorting machines; the removal of letter collection boxes in swing states; and the decision to force election officials to pay higher first-class rates for mail-in ballots to ensure on-time delivery—after previously treating ballots as speedier first-class mail while charging a lower marketing mail rate.

It is no secret that the President of the United States sees slowing mail delivery as a means of assuring his re-election. But this is the United States of America: I still believe in the rule of law and the promise of Democracy, and I call on you to do what you know is right—to resist pressure to use one of the oldest and most venerated institutions in our nation as a partisan tool. You must instead to do everything in your considerable powers to ensure that the Postal Service will again, as it has throughout its long and storied history, help our Democracy continue to pursue a more perfect union. By pushing for the funding that the USPS needs; by reversing the previously mentioned disastrous policies; and by working with all relevant stakeholders, you can help America run a free and fair election, even in the midst of a devastating pandemic.

Specifically, I demand that you immediately fire the Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, who is clearly doing the President’s bidding and turning the USPS into a partisan tool. I also remind you that while the present administration encourages lawlessness—so long as it serves the President’s interests—a future administration may very well prosecute crimes committed now. I therefore note the following federal statute, of which you are likely well aware and would do well to keep in mind over the coming months:

“Whoever knowingly and willfully obstructs or retards the passage of the mail, or any carrier or conveyance carrying the mail, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.” Federal Criminal Law (18 USC 1701)

Moreover, criminal referrals have already made, for instance to the New Jersey Attorney General, to investigate the actions you and the agency you oversee are undertaking to subvert the election. As I have no doubt you know, the President cannot pardon state crimes.

Sincerely,

Andy Posner