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Opinion | Right to vote: US must lead by example in presidential election to showcase its democracy
- Postmaster General’s attempt to suppress vote has triggered public outrage, Congress scrutiny and state action to make mail voting more accessible amid pandemic
- Notwithstanding Trump’s disdain for democracy, the best argument America can make for freedom is the effective exercise of voting for a nation’s leader
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It’s not every day that the US Postal Service becomes national, even international, news.
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Mail delivery has never been a major global foreign policy issue. But in the pandemic year of Covid-19, delivery of mail-in ballots for the November US presidential election has turned into a serious concern. With social distancing still a priority, many voters are expected to avoid going to polling stations and instead rely on mailing their ballots.
The consequences of a botched election go well beyond Washington. Whoever occupies the White House in 2021 will be overseeing the lasting effects of the pandemic, a rapidly accelerating climate change crisis, and shifting great-power geopolitical risks. Even the perception of an illegitimate US election will further erode what’s left of Washington’s global influence.
There are few countries that promote democracy around the world and the best argument for freedom is the effective exercise of voting for a nation’s leader. If the US still wants to be a model for the world, it needs to lead by example, rather than dictate.
This latest trouble began when reports surfaced that the US Postal Service, led by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump appointee, had removed some pavement mailboxes and decommissioned sorting equipment. It turns out, according to a recent Politico/MorningConsult survey, that Democrats are more in favour of voting by mail than Republicans.
In a not-so-subtle effort to suppress the vote, DeJoy’s aggressive internal restructuring of the postal service not only caught the media’s attention, but the US Congress’ as well. That appears to have been enough to stop more obstructive changes with less than 2½ months to go until the election.
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