U.S. Postal Service agrees to destroy mailers with inaccurate voting info, give Colorado unprecedented ability to review future materials related to voting procedures in the 2020 election
Sept. 18, 2020 (DENVER, Colo.)—In a settlement with the state of Colorado, the U.S. Postal Service has agreed to give the state the ability to review national media related to voting procedures and processes in advance of the 2020 election to prevent future voter confusion. Also, the Postal Service has agreed to destroy remaining mailers that a federal judge had previously barred the Postal Service from sending to Colorado voters.
“I am pleased with the settlement we reached today with the U.S. Postal Service. Voters deserve accurate election information. The terms of the settlement mandate that all reasonable effort be taken to remove all undelivered misleading mailers from the mail stream, and it requires collaboration between the Colorado Department of State and the USPS to make sure all future Postal Service communication includes correct information. I look forward to working with the U.S. Postal Service to ensure every Colorado voter is equipped with the information they need to successfully participate in the November 3 election. I appreciate the partnership of Attorney General Weiser to achieve this positive outcome,” said Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold.
“I appreciate the Postal Service’s recognition of the importance of working with states to ensure that voters receive accurate information about using the mail for voting. I will continue to fight for Colorado to prevent the Postal Service, or any agency, from hindering Coloradans’ right to vote and am pleased we reached an agreement that results in the misleading notices being destroyed and giving Colorado the unprecedented ability to review and improve future media campaigns by the Postal Service related to elections. I want to thank Secretary Griswold and her team as well as the dedicated professionals in our office who worked hard on this matter over the past week,” said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.
According to the settlement filed with the federal court in Denver, the Postal Service agreed to have the attorney general and secretary of state preview national media materials related to elections, and gave Colorado the right to temporarily block the release of any material that will confuse Colorado voters and, if necessary, seek court review. In addition, the Postal Service agreed to give the attorney general and secretary of state the right to improve the Postal Service’s national voting website (usps.com/votinginfo) and, if the Postal Service proposes making changes that will confuse Colorado voters, Colorado can seek court review.
Because of the benefits that Colorado voters will gain from these commitments from the federal government, the state asked the court to dismiss its case against the Postal Service. The settlement ends litigation on this matter, but the agreement does not prevent the state from going to court to raise any objection in the future.
Griswold and Weiser filed a lawsuit in federal court on Sept. 12 asking the judge to block the Postal Service from delivering the postcards to Colorado residents. The judge granted a temporary restraining order on the same day halting the delivery of any remaining postcards.
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