Election Mail Is at Risk Over Conflicting Rulings, USPS Says

(Bloomberg) -- The delivery of election mail could be disrupted by operational changes arising from competing national court orders, the U.S. Postal Service warned.

Less than a month before a presidential election that will rely heavily on the delivery of mail-in ballots, rulings on overtime for workers and delivery guidelines must be clarified to avoid confusing local USPS managers, the agency said in a filing late Monday in federal court in Philadelphia. It cited five national injunctions issued by four courts.

“Certain vague, overlapping requirements in these injunctions may be read to impose crippling obligations on the Postal Service that would be near impossible to implement or would cause further delays,” the USPS said in the filing. The Postal Service is seeking clarification with the courts to ensure compliance “while avoiding massive operational disruptions,” it said.

The USPS cited a provision of a court order blocking it from prohibiting late or extra trips by mail trucks. The agency said allowing such trips “without any limitation” would be counterproductive in many cases and “negatively impact service.”

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The filing comes in one of three multi-state lawsuits brought by Democratic state attorneys general who allege that operational changes put in place by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy hindered mail delivery just before an expected surge in absentee ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The USPS has already persuaded a federal judge in New York to clarify an injunction in a separate case requiring the agency to approve overtime for workers. The judge adjusted the order to specify that it applied only to workers handling election mail, after the USPS said a broad interpretation could be abused by workers.

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