KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The U.S. Postal Service is top of mind for Washington lawmakers and pretty much anyone wondering why the letter they sent their uncle still hasn't made it to his house up north.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling lawmakers back from their August recess this week to vote on a bill that would block changes to the Postal Service.
Speaker Pelosi said the proposed cuts to funding are an effort to disenfranchise voters.
The White House said President Trump would back new funding for the Postal Service as part of a package with more money for Americans affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
As far as that letter to your uncle is concerned, you're not too worried about it getting there at a specific time.
But for a lot of people, mail arriving a couple days late is too many days late.
"It affects people getting their medications, it affects the mail-in ballots, it affects people paying their bills," said Macey Brown, owner of MaceyLou Art.
Brown luckily isn't waiting for medicine, but as an artist and small business owner she's worried about what a jeopardized Postal Service means for getting products to her customers.
"I also sometimes send original paintings through the mail and I'm very concerned about those not getting to the right place or getting delayed," she said, noting that you can't reorder something that's a one-of-a-kind piece.
Brown said she isn't upset with postal workers, but is worried for what's happening on a national level that could harm the USPS.
"It's hard to do everything that you can if you're being stripped of these things you need to get your job done," she said.
The new Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, is facing criticism over cost-cutting measures, including staffing cuts, slashed overtime and a reduction of mail-sorting equipment.
Lack of all those things make it harder to get mail out in a timely fashion.
People are pointing out this backlog is happening at a time when the USPS is expected to deliver more absentee ballots than ever before come November.
Knox County Election Administrator Chris Davis said they'll have no problem counting the ballots as long as they get there.
In Tennessee, mail-in ballots must be mailed in. You cannot bring your ballot to a polling location or the election commission.
That's why Davis said don't wait until the last second to request and send in your ballot.
He said several absentee ballots requested for the August 6 election did not make it in because people waited until the very last day to request a ballot, which gave them almost no time to get that ballot, vote and mail it back in.
"If you want to vote absentee, do it now," said Davis.
Applications for absentee ballots for the November election are already available.
Davis said get your request in now so you'll get your ballot in September and have ample time to mail it in.
The Postal Service echoed that advice, warning dozens of states in a letter, including Tennessee, that their application deadlines did not match up with how fast the mail can get them delivered.
The letter to Tennessee is on page 15 of the PDF link attached below.
In an effort to fix issues with the USPS, East Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett said he has sent letters to both the Postmaster General and to Speaker Pelosi.
"While I appreciate Postmaster General DeJoy's intentions to create a more efficient federal postal service, it is clear these changes are not actually making operations more efficient," the congressman said in a statement.
He said the changes are disrupting critical mail services.
In a separate letter, Congressman Burchett told Speaker Pelosi that he believes the House should address the wider impact of the pandemic, not just the postal service.
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