The U.S. Postal Service, a reliable, nonpartisan agency, has been at the forefront of controversy surrounding the voting process for the presidential election. Politicians have argued about how to fund the Postal Service, which the government has run since the agency was founded in 1792.

As election day nears, USPS services for millions across the country, including Syracuse University students and staff, will be stressed. To increase the likelihood of a successful vote-by-mail process in the upcoming election, residents must reject the detrimental changes that the newly-appointed postmaster general has pushed and insist that the USPS receives enough funding to properly handle the 2020 election.

While the coronavirus pandemic has left the USPS facing greater challenges than the agency has in the past two decades, many of the issues are nothing new. The agency hasn’t been profitable since 2006, according to the postmaster general’s annual report and has seen net losses of more than $78 billion since 2007.

The reason for these enormous losses can be traced back to specific structural changes and policies regarding the USPS. In 2006, Congress passed a bill forcing the USPS to fund post-retirement health care 75 years into the future, an unprecedented and costly decision. The USPS is the only government agency that has this congressionally-mandated retirement health care program, which is one the leading causes of its financial losses.

Even without profitability, the USPS is still touted as the most trusted and relied upon government agency. The Pew Research Center found that the USPS has the highest favorability rating of any government agency, showing how reputable and trusted the agency is among the public.

An underfunded and unprepared USPS would have major negative implications in the upcoming election.

“There is reason to be concerned,” said Maraam Dwidar, an assistant professor of political science at SU. “There is a lot of uncertainty as to whether or not the USPS will be able to deliver mail-in-ballots on time to their ultimate location such that they can be counted before the state deadline.”

Consensus among experts remains the same in regards to voting by mail: the sooner you vote, the higher the probability that your vote is counted.

For a vast majority of college students around the country, Nov. 3 will be their first time participating in a presidential election. The COVID-19 crisis has undoubtedly added complexity to the voting process for all citizens, especially those who are casting ballots for the first time. Students must pay attention to their home states’ rules and deadlines to vote by mail.

While it seems as though students’ checklists are growing larger and larger, voting is critically important. A healthy democracy depends on strong voter turnout, according to Fair Vote, a nonpartisan electoral reform organization. If the U.S. is going to maintain a healthy democracy, citizens must vote, even if there is a pandemic.

SU students can call their local election office and request a mail-in-ballot as early as possible to ensure their vote is counted in the upcoming election.

As the postmaster general implements new policies, such as eliminating overtime pay and removing mail sorting machines from distributions centers, voting as early as possible is as important as ever. Some experts estimate that mail delivery is slowed by days, sometimes even weeks.

The U.S. has undeniably found itself in an unfortunate situation as the upcoming election approaches, one which President Donald Trump has referred to “as the most important election of our times,” and former Vice President Joe Biden has described as “the most important election, no matter how young or old you are, you’ve ever voted in.”

Whether it’s COVID-19, political polarization or the lack of resources for some government agencies, the 2020 election is going to be intense and divisive.

The USPS will play a pivotal role in protecting the democracy of the U.S. by ensuring that every single citizen has the ability to vote by mail. The agency enables people to vote from out of state and from home during the pandemic.

Without a functioning postal service, the U.S. will see an incomplete and inaccurate final vote in the 2020 election. All citizens who are in favor of having a properly functioning democracy need to take a stand for the USPS and defend the agency against the current policy changes that have plagued the agency and put the election in limbo.

Nathan Fenningdorf is a sophomore political science major. His column appears bi-weekly.

Published on September 9, 2020 at 10:48 pm

Contact Nathan: nlfennin@syr.edu