A federal judge on Thursday placed a temporary block on operational changes to the U.S. Postal Service that have been cited for causing a slowdown in mail delivery. U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian granted a request from Washington and 13 other states to issue a temporary injunction against the policies implemented under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, saying backlogs in mail “likely will slow down the delivery of ballots” in November’s election.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson led the lawsuit, which called for the USPS to halt a policy requiring postal trucks to leave at specified times even if some mail is being loaded, to treat all election mail as First Class mail regardless of postage, and to replace, reassemble or reconnect mail-sorting machines that have been removed
Judge Bastian said that his preliminary injunction would be issued “essentially in the form presented by the states” but it was not immediately clear how long it would remain in effect.
