The United States Postal Service (USPS) has faced recent slowdowns, worrying voters during a time when standing in line with strangers potentially poses a health risk.
Every Colorado voter has been receiving a ballot in the mail since 2013, and according to the Denver Post, only 3-4% of voters prefer to do so in person. With the 2020 presidential election looming in the coming months, many students at Colorado Mesa University (CMU) may be thinking of how their votes will be affected.
The political issue of slowing down the postal service lies on a spectrum. On the one hand there is the issue of the USPS losing money every year, which, according to Barron’s, isn’t necessarily the fault of the USPS, nor an alarming fact, given that the overall stability of the cash flow (source). On the other hand, there is the belief that President Trump has been sabotaging the USPS deliberately with the installation of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
DeJoy said that he was halting any further changes to the USPS until after election day back in August; however, according to NBC News, problems continue with handling mail. Further negotiations will determine how much the USPS will be impacted by the slowdowns.
According to the Denver Post, Colorado’s infrastructure is more secure than most other states to handle the upcoming election.
“Students should be deliberate, and how they submit their ballots, to the state. So, if students don’t believe that their ballot will be mailed in a timely manner they can drop them off at any number of drop boxes,” CMU Political Science Professor Dr. Justin Gollob said. “There’s a dropbox on CMU campus by the Robinson Theater. So if they are concerned about delays in the mountain, they should certainly keep their eye on the story as it develops.”
It is more of a concern for students who are registered to vote from out of state, but you can simply request that your ballot be mailed to you at your address on campus.
Students should mail in their votes early if they’re concerned about the mail. For those living in the Colorado region, ballots are due to a drop-off box by Tuesday, Nov 3.
