Protesters Gather Outside of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's Home: 'Stop Dismantling Democracy'
Protesters gathered outside of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s home in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Friday morning and demanded him to “stop dismantling democracy.”
The protest, organized by Sunrise Greensboro, included UNC-Chapel Hill students as well as members of the American Postal Workers Union, according to Fox 8.
Video shows the demonstrators in the street, chanting “Wake up DeJoy” and holding signs reading “stop dismantling democracy,” “DeJoy resign now,” and “DeJoy doesn’t deliver, postal workers do”:
Protesters gathered outside of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s House this morning. pic.twitter.com/YhgnPeFiaC
— Lindsay Tuman (@LindsayOnTV) September 11, 2020
This was put on by the group Sunrise Greensboro, some participants included students from UNC Chapel Hill, retired post office worker from Asheboro, and a Greensboro man from the American Postal Workers Union pic.twitter.com/GHv0JPYDvX
— Lindsay Tuman (@LindsayOnTV) September 11, 2020
DeJoy has been under criticism from progressives, who have accused him of taking part in an elaborate scheme to rig the election by sabotaging the vote-by-mail process, particularly after the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced forthcoming operational changes. USPS also warned election officials in several states that their late mail-in voting deadlines could compromise the agency’s ability to deliver the ballots in a timely manner.
DeJoy testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee last month and assured lawmakers that “there has been no changes to any policies with regard to election mail.” He also announced that operational changes within USPS would not occur until after the election to “avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail.”
The postmaster general also finds himself under investigation from House Democrats following unrelated allegations that he violated campaign finance laws. Ex-employees of DeJoy’s former business New Breed Logistics alleged that they “felt pressured to make campaign contributions to GOP candidates.” President Trump indicated that he supports an investigation into the matter.
Five people who worked for DeJoy’s former company, New Breed Logistics, say they were urged by DeJoy’s aides or by DeJoy himself to write checks and attend fundraisers at his mansion in Greensboro, North Carolina,
The protest follows DeJoy’s announcement of the creation of a joint-leadership task force to “enhance” USPS’s coordination with election officials and jurisdictions as the general election draws closer. He also said USPS will be addressing “issues related to voter education and best practices of the stakeholders in administrating mail-in voting for the 2020 election.”
Leaders of four postal unions, who are taking part in the task force, struck an optimistic tone, telling the American people that they can depend on postal workers to deliver election ballots “securely, accurately, and on time.”
“The American public can count on the postal service to deliver this year’s election mail,” Paul V. Hogrogian, president of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, said.
While DeJoy said that USPS is ready for a higher volume of election mail this year, he urged voters to stay up to date on their state’s rules and deadlines and asked that they request and return their ballots as soon as possible to ensure that their votes will be counted.
Americans, he added, can have “great confidence in the 630,000 men and women of the United States Postal Service and in our ability to deliver America’s election mail.”
The Chinese coronavirus pandemic has resulted in several states loosening their rules on voting by mail — a political objective long held by members of the Democrat Party. While officials are attributing this year’s changes to the pandemic, the in-person primary election in Wisconsin, held April 7, demonstrated that the risks surrounding voting in person remain low. Only 52 out of 413,000 participants — as either voters or poll workers — later tested positive for the virus. Among the 52, several reported other ways they could have contracted the virus. Ultimately, Wisconsin’s in-person primary election saw an infection rate below two-hundredths of one percent.