A Federal Judge overseeing Lawsuits Challenging U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Operational Changes Agreed to Shift the Focus of the Cases to Ballot Delivery Issues that could Impact January 5th Runoffs in Georgia that will Determine Control of the U.S. Senate.
Lawyers for a Civil Rights Group and a Voting Rights Organization said at a Hearing, Monday Nov.9, that Mail Delays still pose a Concern in Georgia, even if they Won’t affect the Presidential Election, in which Former Vice President, Joe Biden, was Declared the Winner on Saturday, Nov. 7th.
“I agree on the runoffs -- they’re so important and indeed could tip the balance of power in the Senate,” U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, said in Washington. “We want everyone’s votes to be counted.”
Sullivan said at a Hearing last week that he’d seek Sworn Testimony from Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, a longtime Republican Donor Accused of hobbling the USPS with “transformational” Changes just Before an expected Record Surge in the use of Mail-in-Ballots.
Thousands of Ballots arrived Late across the Country last week, even as Trump continued to Argue that Ballots arriving after Election Day Shouldn’t be Counted, but in State's he was winning should continue Counting.
Data Submitted by the USPS showed Ballots continue to Arrive at Election Offices. That includes 170 Ballots in Central Pennsylvania that were Mailed by at least the Sunday before the Nov. Election and didn’t arrive until, Saturday Nov. 7th, a day too Late to be Counted in the Crucial Swing State
“There are still some parts of the system that are not working the way they should,” Shankar Duraiswamy, a Lawyer for Vote Forward, said at the Hearing. “I can’t tell you these late deliveries changed the election, but that’s 170 people in Pennsylvania who went to the effort of casting a ballot in the election and now they’re not going to be counted.”
The Focus on Georgia will include Requiring the USPS to continue to provide Data on Delivery Performance in the State and other Evidence that Plaintiffs may Request.
DeJoy has Denied any Political Motivation behind USPS Operational Changes, saying they were Envisioned before he started at the Agency and were being Carried Out to Improve Efficiency and get the Postal Service back on Budget. He had No Previous Postal Service Experience when he took the helm this year. But he is a Major Stock Owner of a USPS Contractor, his Wife is a Major Stock Owner of a USPS Contractor, snd he Owns a Major Stock Interest in Amazon's Freight Delivery Service, a USPS Freight Competitor.
Sullivan asked the USPS and the Plaintiffs in Three Combined Cases to Discuss a Possible Agreement to eventually Resolve the Matter and set another Hearing for Nov. 18th.
The USPS Cases are Separate from Three Multi-State USPS Lawsuits Pending before Other Judges.
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