Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Thursday firmly rejected claims from former President Donald Trump and others questioning the Postal Service’s capability to deliver ballots ahead of the upcoming presidential election.
During a virtual preview of the 2024 election, Postmaster General DeJoy was asked by a reporter to respond directly to Trump’s suggestion that the Postal Service might intentionally misplace mail-in ballots. DeJoy responded succinctly, saying, “My response to everyone who claims we’re not prepared for the election is simple: they’re wrong. I don’t feel the need to elaborate further. They are wrong.”
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In his opening remarks, DeJoy criticized rhetoric that undermines public trust in the Postal Service. He reminded reporters that the Postal Service has been delivering ballots since 1864.
“We understand that election officials are under tremendous pressure and will remain so for the next two months,” DeJoy said. “We also recognize that ongoing discussions casting doubt on the Postal Service’s reliability for the upcoming elections will heighten public concern.”
Postmaster General DeJoy reiterated, “Let me be clear, the Postal Service is fully prepared to deliver the nation’s mail-in ballots.”
He emphasized that during the 2020 election, the Postal Service successfully delivered 99.89% of ballots from voters to election officials, despite operating in what he described as a “highly sensitive, sensationalized environment.”
Last week, in an interview with the right-wing outlet Real America’s Voice, Trump ramped up false claims about mail-in voting, even hinting at a potential lawsuit. He inaccurately stated, “I read that the post office is admitting how bad it is, critiquing themselves, saying they can’t deliver the mail. And that’s not even factoring in mail-in ballots. We’re going to be dumping millions and millions of dollars.” Trump repeated baseless assertions that the last election was “rigged” and criticized the U.S. voting system as “bad.”