A new poll shows that two out of every three Americans believe the United States Postal Service (USPC) should be run as a public service rather than a commercial business.
They believe this should happen even if it costs taxpayer dollars.
That belief was more prevalent among Democrats (82 per cent) and independents (69 per cent).
Republicans were evenly divided, with 49 per cent saying it should be run as a public service and 51 per cent choosing the business option “even if that limits the services it provides”.
It comes after Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy implemented a number of cost-cutting changes that have led to mail backlogs across the country.
The former logistics executive and Republican Party fundraiser has signalled that he has more aggressive changes in mind, including some that would reduce service, aligning the Agency more closely to a business model than that of a Government service.
Mr DeJoy’s changes have elicited suspicion among voters and postal workers in the run-up to the US Election on 3 November.
He shelved some of the changes in August after a public backlash.
More recently, Federal judges in Washington State, New York, the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania have blocked the USPS from instituting those changes.
Partisan tensions are running high as millions of Americans prepare to cast mail ballots amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and mail delays have heightened concerns that voters unfamiliar with the process will be disenfranchised.
Nevertheless, Americans still rate the Postal Service favourably, with 72 per cent saying it is doing an “excellent” or a “good” job.
That number is virtually unchanged from Gallup polls conducted in 2014 and 2017, suggesting that its recent troubles have not damaged public perceptions of the Agency.
Two-thirds said they were confident the USPS would be able to deliver election ballots in a timely manner.
Washington, 30 September 2020
