Pelosi Denounces Trump Administration's USPS Overhaul During Visit To Bayview Post Office In SF

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) -- After calling for a #DontMessWithUSPS Day of Action, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi showed up at the Bayview Post Office in San Francisco on Tuesday to talk about her new bill funding the USPS and blocking the Trump administration's overhaul of it.

"I don't think there ever was a political aspect of this," Pelosi told reporters, yet the mail has become the latest partisan football parried back and forth in the lead up to November2020.

Republicans say mail in voter fraud will be rampant.

"It's going to be a catastrophe," says President Donald Trump.

Democrats call President Trump's postal reform voter suppression. The highly charged rhetoric has sent much of America into a panic over the upcoming election.

Following the outcry from lawmakers, on Tuesday the Postmaster General Louis DeJoy delayed the overhaul of the postal service until after Americans cast their vote, but the move has done little to pacify the doubters.

"I don't frankly trust the Postmaster General, " says Pelosi, "and if he's sincere about it, it means the bully has backed off."

Since assuming the job, USPS removed high-speed sorting machines and mailboxes from the streets. DeJoy also barred workers from making extra trips to ensure on-time mail delivery and limited overtime, causing backlogs of up to a week in some cities.

But Californians have been voting by mail for years. In this year's primary election, more than 70% of voters chose the post office over the polls when casting their ballots. So Registrars like Marin County's Lynda Roberts already have a system in place that's capable of counting thousands of mail in votes and keeping tabs on security.

KPIX asked Roberts if there is more of an opportunity for voter fraud with mail in ballots.

"No, not in my opinion. We have the signature verification process," said Roberts. "It's all tracked without election verification system and the verification process which checks your signature against the voter registration record."

"If there is a bottleneck in the election process it will be at the Post Office," said National Association of Letter Carriers president Ophelia Sosa.

Without additional funding the union leader says they'll fall even more behind than they already are. Some neighborhoods, Sosa says, are getting mail several days late. That's why the unions have teamed up with Pelosi to push for $25 billion in funding for the USPS.

Still, a delayed ballot is still a good ballot, says Roberts. As long as the Registrar gets it within 14 days of the election -- it counts.