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Just months before election, many worried about United States Postal Service

Posted at 5:57 PM, Aug 17, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-17 18:59:12-04

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The United States Postal Service will be crucial come fall, when millions of Americans send in their ballots.

Some worry those ballots won’t get in there in time.

The President of American Postal Service Union, Mark Dimondstein, says new leadership has put in a series of actions to undermine the post office.

That includes reducing hours at retail locations, slowing down service or delaying mail, removing processing equipment, reducing work hours and eliminating overtime.

“We're being demanded, in one way or another, with these new policies to delay mail. That's against everything we stand for,” says Dimondstein.

Douglas County Election Commissioner Brian Kruse says the county is hoping to have 13 drop-off boxes around the county by the November election and it’s the best way to make sure your ballot is counted.

But if you are one of those people who want to vote by mail, you just have to do it a bit earlier than the past.

Kruse says the deadline to send in your ballot is one week before the November 3rd election, on October 27.

“Just with the volume and with some of the information you’re seeing in the news, we really want to make sure voters' voices are heard,” says Kruse.

There’s not too many issues that Congressman Don Bacon (R) and his challenger Kara Eastman agree on.

But they both say the United States Postal Service should be fully funded and crucial to Nebraska.

“Rural Nebraska relies on the post office. Omaha has probably some other options but our post office gets to many parts of Nebraska and our commerce and economy depend on the postal system,” says Bacon.

“Veterans are employed by postal service, so many people who I talked to rely on the post service to get their medication,” says Eastman.

The House of Representatives returns this week to debate funding of the USPS. Bacon and Eastman both say fully funding it is a no brainer.

“I would have preferred the post office as a standalone bill or in a smaller stimulus package,” says Bacon.

“We need to secure elections, right? So that means making sure the postal service has everything it needs to be functional, operation, fully operational,” says Eastman.