{"id":371,"date":"2020-08-27T20:48:56","date_gmt":"2020-08-27T20:48:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/?p=371"},"modified":"2020-08-27T20:49:03","modified_gmt":"2020-08-27T20:49:03","slug":"new-jersey-sues-trump-administration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/27\/new-jersey-sues-trump-administration\/","title":{"rendered":"NEW JERSEY SUES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>AG Grewal Announces Lawsuit to Protect U.S.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Postal Service and Mail-in Voting from Unlawful<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Cutbacks that Have Slowed Deliveries<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>TRENTON <\/strong>&#8211; Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced Aug. 25 that New Jersey, New York, and a coalition of state, county and local governments are suing to block the policy and operational changes recently put in place by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). The complaint alleges that these changes have already disrupted vital mail services and could hamper New Jersey\u2019s administration of the upcoming election, which will primarily use mail-in ballots to protect voters from COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the plaintiffs contend that the changes &#8211; including dismantling hundreds of mail-sorting machines, reducing the number of mailboxes available to the public, and rolling back postal worker overtime &#8211; are unlawful because they were implemented without a required public hearing before the Postal Regulatory Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The lawsuit also contends that the changes &#8211; and the resultant nationwide mail service slowdown &#8211; represent an abdication of the USPS\u2019s mission, could be harmful to some individuals who receive medications and other products critical to their health via the mail, and violate the Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution by interfering with the States\u2019 authority to set rules for the election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cVoting by mail is safe, secure, and reliable and we intend to keep it that way for New Jerseyans. Americans will vote by mail in record numbers this November and the Postal Service\u2019s dramatic changes threaten to disenfranchise voters by disrupting mail service. We will continue working with other state Attorneys General to protect the election and voter rights,\u201d said Attorney General Grewal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn addition,\u201d Attorney General Grewal said, \u201ccountless people in New Jersey and across the nation, including some of our most vulnerable citizens, rely on the mail for prescription drugs and other things that help them survive. During this critical time, Americans deserve better than a mail slow-down rooted in political gamesmanship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, the lawsuit notes that under the USPS\u2019s universal service obligation, the agency has a \u201clegal mandate\u201d to serve all areas of the country, and that its historic commitment has been to ensure that \u201cno Americans are unable to access the mail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The complaint also notes that one of the Postal Service\u2019s \u201cmost critical functions\u201d is to support federal, State and local elections across the country through the delivery of critical election materials such as ballots, voter registration cards, absentee applications and polling place notifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asserting that the USPS leadership has reduced public access to mail service and essentially institutionalized delays in mail processing and sorting, the complaint alleges harms to both the plaintiff governments and their residents. For instance, the complaint alleges that on August 16, 2020, a USPS distribution center in Jersey City, New Jersey, was still storing Marketing Mail packages that had been scheduled for delivery as early as July 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Americans \u201cwill vote by mail in record numbers\u201d in the November 2020 election, the complaint asserts, and the mail service slowdown caused by USPS\u2019s \u201cdramatic\u201d changes not only threatens to disenfranchise those voters, but also to require states to expend \u201csubstantial economic and administrative resources\u201d to accommodate vote-by-mail delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And while Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has said certain of the changes at issue will be suspended, the complaint notes, he has said that removed sorting machines and other equipment will not be returned, and has not presented a plan to restore timely mail service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Underlying the disruptive changes implemented by the Postal Service, the complaint asserts, is President Trump\u2019s opposition to mail-in voting for partisan political reasons, and his \u201cconcerted efforts to interfere with\u201d the mail-in voting process by undermining the postal service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Postal Service\u2019s unofficial motto states that \u2018neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds,\u2019\u201d said Attorney General Grewal. \u201cThe Postal Service has served Americans well since our country\u2019s founding. We are filing this lawsuit to ensure that even politically motivated cutbacks won\u2019t prevent the timely delivery of our residents\u2019 mail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The complaint concludes by asking the court to vacate all changes implemented by USPS because they are illegal, and because millions of Americans will not be voting in person in November and are depending upon the timely delivery of election mail to ensure their votes are counted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This matter was handled by Deputy Attorney General Tim Sheehan under the supervision of Assistant Attorney General Mayor P. Saxena of the Division of Law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AG Grewal Announces Lawsuit to Protect U.S. Postal Service and Mail-in Voting from Unlawful Cutbacks that Have Slowed Deliveries TRENTON &#8211; Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced Aug. 25 that New Jersey, New York, and a coalition of state, county and local governments are suing to block the policy and operational changes recently put in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-jersey"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>NEW JERSEY SUES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/27\/new-jersey-sues-trump-administration\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NEW JERSEY SUES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"AG Grewal Announces Lawsuit to Protect U.S. Postal Service and Mail-in Voting from Unlawful Cutbacks that Have Slowed Deliveries TRENTON &#8211; Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced Aug. 25 that New Jersey, New York, and a coalition of state, county and local governments are suing to block the policy and operational changes recently put in [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/27\/new-jersey-sues-trump-administration\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-08-27T20:48:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-08-27T20:49:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"KS\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"KS\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/27\/new-jersey-sues-trump-administration\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/27\/new-jersey-sues-trump-administration\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"KS\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e5dd5bd7e73eedafb97076a0ab2ce46c\"},\"headline\":\"NEW JERSEY SUES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-08-27T20:48:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-08-27T20:49:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/27\/new-jersey-sues-trump-administration\/\"},\"wordCount\":774,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"New Jersey\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/27\/new-jersey-sues-trump-administration\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/27\/new-jersey-sues-trump-administration\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/27\/new-jersey-sues-trump-administration\/\",\"name\":\"NEW JERSEY SUES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-08-27T20:48:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-08-27T20:49:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e5dd5bd7e73eedafb97076a0ab2ce46c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/27\/new-jersey-sues-trump-administration\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/27\/new-jersey-sues-trump-administration\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/27\/new-jersey-sues-trump-administration\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"NEW JERSEY SUES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"A Household Name Since 2000\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e5dd5bd7e73eedafb97076a0ab2ce46c\",\"name\":\"KS\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25f00b0c8b1e85d85bf307cc3206074d1d369cdf761c83de44d68b1986ba78ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25f00b0c8b1e85d85bf307cc3206074d1d369cdf761c83de44d68b1986ba78ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25f00b0c8b1e85d85bf307cc3206074d1d369cdf761c83de44d68b1986ba78ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"KS\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/author\/ks\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"NEW JERSEY SUES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION -","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/27\/new-jersey-sues-trump-administration\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"NEW JERSEY SUES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION -","og_description":"AG Grewal Announces Lawsuit to Protect U.S. Postal Service and Mail-in Voting from Unlawful Cutbacks that Have Slowed Deliveries TRENTON &#8211; Attorney General Gurbir S. 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