WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Postal Service asked a federal judge to clarify a ruling on election mail, warning the decision could hinder the agency’s ability to make prompt mail deliveries before the presidential election.
Four U.S. judges have issued preliminary injunctions barring the Postal Service from making service reductions ahead of the November presidential election.
The Postal Service asked Judge Emmet Sullivan to clarify his Sept. 27 ruling, warning it “would undermine the Postal Service’s ability to timely deliver the mail before the upcoming election.”
The Postal Service in a court filing late Monday cited Sullivan’s decision that requires election mail be sent via plane that it said “would constitute a major change that would seriously disrupt the processing of the mail and may not, in fact, be possible.”
Several courts have ordered the Postal Service to treat all election mail as first-class or priority mail express.
U.S. Postmaster Louis DeJoy, a donor to Trump who took over in June, in August agreed to suspend controversial operational changes through Election Day.
Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama