LANSING, Mich. — Michigan leaders announced Tuesday that they are joining a coalition of states in suing the United States Postal Service.
The lawsuit will be filed against the federal government Tuesday over recent changes to USPS' operations, which state officials say they're concerned could impact the November general election.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that Michigan will be joining the lawsuit, with the support of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. The state of Washington is leading the legal action, which includes 13 other states.
USPS has been mired in issues in recent weeks, including delivery delays and staffing shortages. The operational changes were implemented by the new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who was appointed in June.
November's election is expected to have a much higher vote by mail turnout than normal because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Democrats are accusing the Trump administration of sabotaging the reliability of USPS ahead of the election. Last week, the president acknowledged he was limiting funding to the postal service to make it harder to process mail-in ballots.
USPS announced Tuesday is would be rolling back some of its operational changes, which were implemented as cost-saving measures, until after the election. However, in an interview with 13 ON YOUR SIDE, Nessel said that does not ease her concerns.
"The only reason why that announcement was made is because I think the Postmaster General understood that a number of states, including Michigan, were about to bring this lawsuit and that it was likely that we would prevail on it," she said. "I suppose he thought that by making this announcement, it would deter us from filing. It did not. We need to have a court order in place that prohibits any further changes being made that will disrupt service from the Post Office."
The lawsuit argues that the changes have already impacted Americans, from delaying medical prescriptions to ballots. A press release from state leaders says under federal law changes to USPS' operations must but be submitted to the Postal Regulatory Commission.
“General DeJoy never engaged in that process here,” the lawsuit states. “As a matter of substance, these changes will have a wide range of negative consequences that violate a diverse array of federal laws, from harming individuals with disabilities in violation of the Rehabilitation Act to disenfranchising voters in violation of the Constitution.”
The lawsuit seeks an injunction to block any further changes to USPS' operations.
“Recent actions taken by Mr. DeJoy are unlawful and indicate an attempt to disrupt and delay U.S. Postal Service operations,” Nessel said. “For more than 200 years, the postal service has been a fundamental part of the fabric of this country. People and businesses rely on it to deliver critical medications, correspondence and goods. We filed this lawsuit on behalf of the people of this state to ensure they can continue to depend on a system that is an integral part of our daily lives, our economic well-being and our democratic process.”
Michigan is joining Washington, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin in the lawsuit.
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