Dear MoveOn member,
You're not imagining things: The mail really is getting slower—but it's not because of the coronavirus pandemic; it's because of Republican interference.
Donald Trump has been raging against the post office for months, and now that the pandemic has made it clear that voting by mail will be essential to ensuring access to the ballot in the fall, Trump has ratcheted up his attacks in an effort to both destroy the post office and steal the election in one fell swoop.
Last month, Trump's handpicked postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, a Republican megadonor who gave Trump's campaign $1.5 million, instituted what he claimed were changes to "improve operational efficiency"—like cancelling overtime and instructing mail carriers to leave mail at distribution centers overnight—but what watchdog groups are calling deliberate efforts to slow down the mail and bankrupt the post office in advance of November's elections.1
Slowing down the mail is not just an inconvenience. For many, it could mean a delay in lifesaving medications, unemployment checks, and more—and the people hit the hardest are those in rural communities and older Americans who tend to rely more heavily on the Postal Service.
In April, when Trump first threatened to withhold coronavirus relief funding if the bill included funding for the post office, MoveOn's Creative Lab—thanks to help from members like you, John—created a powerful TV ad aimed at seniors to get the message out about Trump's attacks on the post office. We ran that ad in the critical battleground state of Maine, and it was a HUGE success! But with Trump's attacks now intensifying, we want to expand this ad to air on television in other swing states with high concentrations of voters over 65: Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Florida.
We need to keep this ad on the air for as long as we can, but to do that we need a dedicated and consistent stream of funding from MoveOn members like you. Can you chip in $3 a week to get our ad on the air in swing states and keep it up for as long as it takes? (MoveOn will bill your weekly donation to your credit card once a month starting today and will contact you shortly after the election to see if you want to modify or cancel your weekly donation.)
No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.
This new wave of attacks on the post office is most concerning because of the absolutely devastating impacts on voting in November.
As primaries continued during the pandemic, it became crystal clear that voting by mail would be the best way to ensure access to a ballot for most voters while keeping communities safe from the virus. But this massive spike in mail-in voting has already stressed the infrastructure in states across the country—and any added delays due to Republican attacks on the post office could cause the whole system to collapse.
In 34 states, your vote is invalidated if it is not received by Election Day, and in others, votes can be thrown out for easy-to-make errors that will be exacerbated by a cash-strapped post office.2
That could mean millions of votes—especially Democratic votes—going uncounted or challenged by right-wing operatives in one of the most consequential elections in American history.
One of the key constituencies that Trump needs to carry if he wants to win re-election are voters over 65—the same voters who are at the highest risk for serious complications from the coronavirus and who are most reliant on the Postal Service.
That's why our ad is specifically targeting seniors in the swing states most important to Trump and vulnerable Republicans in the Senate.
Will you help get our message to even more of these voters in Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Florida by chipping in $3 a week? Your donation will help keep our ad on the air and fuel our efforts to defeat Trump and the GOP on November 3. (MoveOn will bill your weekly donation to your credit card once a month starting today and will contact you shortly after the election to see if you want to modify or cancel your weekly donation.)
No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.
Neither voting by mail nor protecting the post office should be partisan issues. But Donald Trump and his cronies are willing to do anything, no matter how sinister, to maintain their grip on power.
We can't—and we won't—let them get away with it.
Join us in the fight by chipping in $3 a week. (MoveOn will bill your weekly donation to your credit card once a month starting today and will contact you shortly after the election to see if you want to modify or cancel your weekly donation.)
No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.
Thanks for all you do.
–Jenn, Elsie, Sky, Isbah, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Mail Delays Fuel Concern Trump Is Undercutting Postal System Ahead of Voting," The New York Times, July 31, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141668?t=8&akid=270887%2E40999114%2EhAxgCA
2. Ibid.
PAID FOR BY MOVEON
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