Federal Judge Bans USPS From Sending Election Mailers With 'False Statements'

A federal judge has banned the United States Postal Service from sending out election mailers that contain "false statements." The USPS was initially accused by Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold. According to Griswold, the Postal Service was sending Colorado voters mailers that contained false information, including that voters are expected to request a mail-in ballot in order to receive one. This is not the case in Colorado, as well as four other states, per The Hill.

Griswold responded by filing a lawsuit against the USPS, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and local Postal Service leaders. Judge William Martinez approved the temporary restraining order on Saturday. It will last through Sept. 22, unless it is approved for an extension by the court. In court documents obtained by The Hill, Martinez also ordered the the defendants to submit an "accounting" of all mailers sent across Colorado by Sept. 17. "This accounting will, at a minimum, include the number of such notices mailed to Colorado postal patrons broken down by the first three digits of the destination U.S. Postal Service Zip Code," the judge stated.

I just found out the @USPS is sending this postcard to every household and PO Box in the nation. For states like Colorado where we send ballots to all voters, the information is not just confusing, it’s WRONG. (Thread) pic.twitter.com/RoTTeJRJVl

— Jena Griswold (@JenaGriswold) September 12, 2020

On Friday, Griswold took to social media to blast the USPS and DeJoy for the "confusing" mailers. "Here in Colorado (and also in CA, DC, HI, NJ, NV, OR, UT, WA, & VT) voters don't request ballots because a ballot is mailed to every registered voter," she said. "But the USPS is confusing our voters by telling them to request a ballot." Griswold added, "Secretaries of State asked
USPS Postmaster General DeJoy to review a draft before election information was sent to voters to ensure accuracy. But he refused. Now millions of postcards with misinformation are printed & being mailed to voters."

"Also in Colorado, we ask voters to send ballots back at least 8 days before the election,"Griswold continued. "Why is the USPS telling voters a different timeline?" She also wrote, "This may have started off as a well-intentioned effort by
USPS, but their refusal to listen to election experts combined with the recent postal slowdown in some parts of the country is beyond suspect." She also alleged, "When we asked USPS not to send the postcard with misinformation to voters in Colorado they flat out refused."

Finally, Griswold said, "Confusing voters about mail ballots in the middle of a pandemic is unacceptable. It can undermine confidence in the election & suppress votes. I will do everything in my power to stop USPS from sending misinformation to voters."