By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S House of Representatives committee plans to hold a Sept. 17 hearing with new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to examine operational changes to the U.S. Postal Service amid concerns about the 2020 election and recent reports of a slowdown in some deliveries.
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform invited DeJoy “to examine recent changes to U.S. Postal Service operations and standards and the need for on-time mail delivery during the ongoing pandemic and upcoming election, which as you know may be held largely by mail-in ballot,” said Representative Carolyn Maloney, who chairs the panel.
Maloney and other senior House Democrats warned in a July 20 letter that “increases in mail delivery timing would impair the ability of ballots to be received and counted in a timely manner – an unacceptable outcome for a free and fair election.”
A spokesman for DeJoy declined to comment on the hearing.
The Postal Service will report third-quarter financials on Friday when the board holds a virtual meeting.
A group of senators last week raised concerns that delaying mail deliveries could hinder attempts to mail in ballots for the 2020 election by Americans fearful about voting in person during a pandemic.
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to sue Nevada after Democratic lawmakers passed a bill on Sunday that would send mail-in ballots to every voter ahead of November’s presidential election in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump, who has claimed without evidence that voting by mail will lead to rampant fraud, wrote on Twitter on Monday that the legislation approved on Sunday was an “illegal late night coup.”
If the state’s Democratic governor, Steve Sisolak, signs the bill as expected, Nevada would become the seventh state to send ballots to all registered voters for the Nov. 3 election.
(Reporting by David Shepardson)
