Donald Trump’s sabotage of the U.S. Postal Service could already have changed the outcome of one election. The clerk in Sterling Heights, Michigan, said that 165 ballots arrived too late to be counted in the August 4 primary election—even though they were postmarked five days before the primary. One primary in Macomb County was decided by just 87 votes.
The ballots arrived Monday August 10 with July 30 postmarks. This comes after some Michigan voters reported not receiving their absentee ballots in time despite having requested them well ahead of the primary. At the same time, people around the country are experiencing mail delays.
“It's not uncommon for us to receive 10 or 20 (late absentee ballots) here and there," Sterling Heights clerk Melanie Ryska told Crain’s Detroit. "But just to get this number at this time is very unusual.”
The Postal Service claims delays are because of increased package volume and decreased staffing due to coronavirus, but it’s notably happening as Louis DeJoy, Trump’s new postmaster general, has cut off overtime and changed procedures at the USPS in ways that experienced postal workers say are causing backlogs.
Trump has attacked the idea of voting by mail dozens of times in recent months, making clear that he’s connecting his fear of losing in November to people being able to vote safely in a pandemic. But Trump is also trying to delegitimize the elections by creating confusion and results like this one in Michigan, in which ballots are disqualified through absolutely no fault of the people trying to vote.
This right here is a billion red flags set on fire while encircling a beacon lighting up the sky with the word “WARNING.”