Changes to rural postal service will delay mail and disenfranchise voters

The Postal Service leadership announced a change to its procedures that will delay when mail sent from rural communities receives a postmark and how long it takes to reach its destination. In response, Rural Democracy’s Communications and Policy Director Michael Chameides provided policy analysis explaining why rural communities could be hit hardest by the change. The story was distributed through media outlets, including NOTUS and Public News Service, and aired on more than 250 radio stations

This change is going to impact about 70% of ZIP codes. The people in rural communities are going to be hit twice. Our mail is going to take longer to get there, and then the documents that need a postmark are going to show the wrong date. And this is going to lead to a whole lot of people having their votes discounted because of this policy choice.
Michael Chameides for Public News Service

Read the NOTUS and Public News Service stories to learn how the postal service change will harm people in rural communities.