Support and Protect the USPS!

I am a voter who lives __________(country)  and votes in ___________(county, state). The United States Postal Service is an essential public service, necessary for our economy and fundamental to a functioning democracy. President Trump’s outrageous attacks on the USPS and on Vote-by-Mail, and the lack of funding for these items in recent COVID stimulus/rescue packages, are unacceptable, and leave Americans everywhere at grave risk.

I am writing to ask you to protect and fund the USPS. It is an affordable, accessible public good, serving as a universal lifeline that Americans depend on, no matter where they live or what their circumstances — including for the millions of American military and citizens who live overseas. Importantly, the USPS provides employment for more than 600,000 Americans, many of whom are veterans. 

The USPS provides critical infrastructure upon which the integrity of US elections depends. Millions of Americans rely on vote-by-mail to cast their ballots. As an American living abroad, I can only vote by mail. Without affordable, accessible, universal mail delivery service as guaranteed by the USPS, millions of military, foreign service officers, and civilian voters like myself will be totally disenfranchised in US elections. 

While Americans abroad are enfranchised in our elections by being able to vote-by-mail, not all Americans have this right. Vote-by-mail is safe, is effective, and is something I ask you to support expanding. Without the USPS and vote-by-mail, Americans everywhere will be asked to bear additional financial, economic hardships just in order to vote, even risking their health and safety in pandemic conditions to try to vote in-person. This would be mass voter disenfranchisement. Now more than ever, we should be expanding protections of the vote, not undermining them, for ALL Americans, including overseas American voters.

I urge you to support funding for protecting the United States Postal Service and making vote-by-mail universally available for the November general election; to make funding for these two items your priorities in the upcoming stimulus/rescue package and to encourage your colleagues in Congress to do the same.

Sincerely,