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The U.S. Postmaster General’s plan to slow down mail delivery to rural communities by one day to better serve urban and suburban communities is a cruel maneuver and a slap in the face to rural residents. It is yet another service denied to rural communities as though we either don’t exist or don’t matter.

Rural mail delivery is already slow and now they can’t even deliver a certified, return receipt requested piece of mail from a rural post office to a government agency located in Richmond. On July 26, I mailed an official form required by the Virginia Department of Elections and it was tracked to a Richmond Distribution Facility on July 27. Since August 1, tracking has shown that it is in transit to the next facility. Attempts to find that mail have proven futile.

According to the USPS website, I can’t inquire as to the whereabouts of my mail, but I can request a refund of my postage fee. I find it odd that a certified piece of mail that is supposed to be able to be tracked, and found if necessary, can’t be found or even tracked from its last known location. Now I have to mail another hardcopy of the form, and hope that sending it by regular mail gets it delivered. Having the Department of Elections reply to correspondence is another matter.

U.S. Senator Mark Warner has stated on social media that he is working to improve postal service. The only way to do that is to fire Postmaster General DeJoy and put back the staff and equipment he has taken away. DeJoy has done the opposite of improving service and lowering costs. Every move he makes comes with higher postage fees and slower delivery to keep business costs down. It truly appears that DeJoy is deliberately attempting to sabotage operations to get the U.S. Postal Service replaced with a non-governmental business.

Since there is no longer a guarantee that mail will reach its destination, this makes me worry that mail-in voting ballots will not be received by the deadline. Inability to deliver ballots in a timely, if not speedy, fashion looks like voter suppression. I would now suggest that everyone vote in person, if they can, and that candidates get a verbal confirmation that their candidacy forms are received. Take no chances, make note of the date, time, and name of the person from whom you get the confirmation.

 Trudy Berry
Candidate for House District 50