Colorado State Rep. Rod Pelton, a Republican from Cheyenne Wells, is joining a chorus of conservatives nationwide who are attacking the United States Postal Service (USPS) ahead of an election that will rely heavily on mail-in voting.
“Conservatives if you want your ballot to count, better drop it off yourself,” wrote Pelton on Facebook, sharing an Associated Press article regarding a postal service workers union’s endorsement of Democrat Joe Biden for President. “No longer trust the Postal services to do a job that’s not biased.”
The National Association of Letter Carriers’ endorsement of Biden comes after President Donald Trump admitted to depriving the USPS of much-needed funding in order to make it more difficult to process mail ballots during the upcoming election, when an unprecedented number of voters are expected to utilize mail ballots due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pelton did not respond to an email seeking to know whether he supports Trump’s attempts to defund the USPS ahead of the 2020 election or whether he acknowledges Colorado’s position as a leader in voting-by-mail.
In Colorado, mail ballots have been the primary method of voting since 2013, and despite some conservatives’ claims that mail ballots beget voter fraud, Colorado’s successful history of using mail ballots proves otherwise. Former Republican Secretary of State Wayne Williams has joined Democrats in backing Colorado’s vote-by-mail system.
Trump began attacking the mail voting system at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., with many in the Republican Party, including in Colorado, following suit. As conservatives have expanded their condemnation to include the USPS, a highly trusted and revered institution in the minds of the majority of Americans, and as the 2020 election draws nearer, public outcry has ensued.
A wave of rallies nationwide took place on Saturday as part of a coordinated effort to raise alarm about cuts to USPS, including multiple in Colorado.
Advocates focused not only on the danger to the upcoming election if the USPS can’t operate normally, but on the institution’s critical role in the everyday lives of Americans, especially those in rural areas.
Major delivery companies like UPS and FedEx tend not to service the country’s most rural and remote areas, so the USPS serves as a lifeline for those communities, including by delivering critical medication.
Pelton represents one of Colorado’s most rural districts in the northeastern corner of the state.
