By Mary O’KEEFE

Election Day draws near and questions continue about how in-person voting and mail-in-ballots will be handled during this time of pandemic. There have been calls nationally for voters to request a vote-by-mail ballot as soon as possible. Voters in Los Angeles County will automatically be mailed a vote-by-mail ballot, regardless whether or not it is requested. Registered voters should have received a card from the LA Country Registrar’s Office asking for address verification. If the address is correct on the card then no other action would need to be taken; if not then a clarification should be made to the Registrar’s O

ffice as noted on the card.

Due to COVID-19 there is an expected increase in those who vote by mail. President Trump and his Administration have raised concerns regarding the ability of the U.S. Postal Service to handle the additional numbers of mail-in ballots. Recently the newly-appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy ordered several changes in the USPS across the country that included removing mailboxes and mail sorting equipment from post offices. These decisions concerned officials, and many in the public, as to mail de

livery.

Due to the outcry from the public, DeJoy stated there would be a pause in the changes; however, he did not indicate if any of the removed equipment would be replaced.

On Tuesday, Congressman Adam Schiff and State Assemblymember Laura Friedman held a press conference in front of the Burbank Bob Hope Post Office to address these changes and what they might mean for the public.

Although the vote-by-mail issue has dominated discussion in the media, the slowed down delivery of mail due to the changes has implications far beyond November’s election.

Both Schiff and Friedman spoke of the thousands of people who had contacted them reporting fall-out from the USPS changes that have slowed down delivery of the mail.

“One constituent, Tyler in Hollywood, wrote to me saying ‘My medications have been stuck in the USPS system for a month now.’ I am not asking for your help as claims have been filed both with Kaiser and the Postal Service; however, if it wasn’t for my emergency stash of HIV meds and antidepressants I don’t know where I would be. The slow-down of the Postal Service cannot continue. Please keep working as hard as you can to fix this and get the benefits we need to survive this pandemic,’” Schiff said.

He spoke of a business owner who also contacted him. She has a small business that is 100% reliant on the USPS, but over the weeks packages that she was expecting and those sent to her customers have been delayed. This cost her money as she had to either refund the sale or resend items. These costs are especially difficult to bear after dealing with a loss of income due to COVID-19.

“A veteran named Andy left me a message that said last Thursday at the West LA VA [Veterans Administration] [he] spoke with veterans who had to drive miles to pick up meds at the pharmacy because they had been waiting up to three weeks to get medication after they ordered them,” Schiff said.

The veteran added it usually takes five to 10 days to get this medication.

Friedman had also been contacted by hundreds of constituents with the same issues concerning the slow-down in the delivery of mail.

She said the slow-down made her angry because people have had to deal with so much due to the pandemic, from remote learning with their children to unemployment and just trying to keep food on the table. This adds to that stress.

Friedman said in the past when there were office or machine repairs needed or USPS office hours had changed there would be notice given to the public including why the changes were happening.

Darcel Cole Valenta, a retired USPS worker, also spoke on Tuesday.

“I worked for the Post Office in Burbank for 32 years,” she said. She said how important it was for active and retired USPS workers to have their voices heard.

“Our motto here at this office was ‘every piece, every day,’” she said, meaning that no letter or package was left undelivered.

“The things the postmaster general put in place have thwarted that,” she said.

She rejected the suggestion the USPS would not be able to handle the increased number of vote-by-mail ballots.

“We can handle the election,” she said.

Cole Valenta added Burbank has voted by mail in the past, as have other states, both Democratic and Republican, and the USPS has been able to do its job.

“We deliver your Christmas packages. We deliver your Christmas cards; there is no difference,” she said. “The Post Office is a fabric of the United States. We deliver to every address – not just in the cities but in rural America.”

Neither Schiff nor Friedman had exact numbers of how many post offices have reduced hours, how many sorting machines were dismantled or how many mailboxes were removed despite calls for that information, according to Friedman.

“Americans in Los Angeles and around the country are experiencing reduced services and delayed delivery because of the operational changes ordered by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, including prohibiting overtime, decommissioning sorting machines and removing drop boxes. Through its oversight function, Congress will determine how many boxes and sorting machines have been removed from service, and whether any action has been taken to restore them to operation. While the postmaster general recently announced he will be suspending these operational changes until after the election, these policies need to be reversed, not just suspended,” Schiff said. “On Saturday, the House of Representatives will be returning to Washington to pass the Deliver for America Act, legislation that will require that the services provided by the Postal Service be returned to what they were in January and provide $25 billion to sustain the Postal Service through the November election and prevent service cutbacks.”

Friedman added that despite all her constituents are dealing with their overwhelming focus has recently been on the post office.

On Tuesday DeJoy released a statement concerning the changes.

“The United States Postal Service will play a critical role this year in delivering election mail for millions of voters across the country. There has been a lot of discussion recently about whether the Postal Service is ready, willing and able to meet this challenge,” stated DeJoy.

He added the Postal Service was ready to handle the volume of election mail it will receive. He also stated he is expanding “our current leadership taskforce to election mail to enhance our ongoing work and partnership with state and local election officials in jurisdictions throughout the country.”

He said that retail hours will not change, mail processing facilities will not close and  “overtime has, and will continue to be, approved as needed.” He also stated that the mail processing equipment and mail collection boxes will “remain where they are” but did not mention replacing those he had removed.

DeJoy has been scheduled to testify Friday before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs.

Regardless of the changes, the LA County Registrar’s Office spokesman Michael Sanchez encouraged voters to return their mail-in ballot as early as possible via mail, vote-by-mail drop box or at any Vote Center. Voting in person will be offered in LA County as well.

  Mary Okeefe