Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) on Saturday filed a lawsuit against the United States Postal Service (USPS) and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy over pre-election mailers that are being sent out across the United States. According to Griswold, the mailer provides information that is wrong in Colorado and a handful of other states.
Specifically, Griswold takes issue with the language saying voters must "request a ballot" in order to vote by mail in November. Colorado is one of numerous states that send ballots to every registered voters.
"These false statements will confuse Colorado voters, likely causing otherwise-eligible voters to wrongly believe that they may not participate in the upcoming election. This attempt at voter suppression violates the United States Constitution and federal statutes and must be stopped immediately," the complaint stated, according to CNN.
In fact, Griswold went on an entire Twitter rant about the situation:
I just found out the @USPS is sending this postcard to every household and PO Box in the nation. For states like Colorado where we send ballots to all voters, the information is not just confusing, it’s WRONG. (Thread) pic.twitter.com/RoTTeJRJVl
— Jena Griswold (@JenaGriswold) September 12, 2020
Here in Colorado (and also in CA, DC, HI, NJ, NV, OR, UT, WA, & VT) voters don’t request ballots because a ballot is mailed to every registered voter. But the @USPS is confusing our voters by telling them to request a ballot.
— Jena Griswold (@JenaGriswold) September 12, 2020
Secretaries of State asked @USPS Postmaster General DeJoy to review a draft before election information was sent to voters to ensure accuracy. But he refused. Now millions of postcards with misinformation are printed & being mailed to voters.
— Jena Griswold (@JenaGriswold) September 12, 2020
Also in Colorado, we ask voters to send ballots back at least 8 days before the election. Why is the @USPS telling voters a different timeline?
— Jena Griswold (@JenaGriswold) September 12, 2020
This may have started off as a well-intentioned effort by @USPS, but their refusal to listen to election experts combined with the recent postal slowdown in some parts of the country is beyond suspect.
— Jena Griswold (@JenaGriswold) September 12, 2020
When we asked @USPS not to send the postcard with misinformation to voters in Colorado they flat out refused
— Jena Griswold (@JenaGriswold) September 12, 2020
Confusing voters about mail ballots in the middle of a pandemic is unacceptable. It can undermine confidence in the election & suppress votes. I will do everything in my power to stop @USPS from sending misinformation to voters.
— Jena Griswold (@JenaGriswold) September 12, 2020
USPS spokesman Dave Partenheimer defended the mailer, saying "the mail-piece -- which has already been delivered to most households and will reach every American residential mailing and P.O. Box address in the coming week -- contains a single set of simple recommendations for voters throughout the nation, regardless of where they live and where they vote."
"The main message of the mail-piece is that voters should plan ahead, educate themselves about voting options available in their jurisdiction, and, if they choose to vote by mail, to give themselves enough time to receive, complete and return their ballot," he told CNN.