Dear Republican U.S. Senators: Stop messing with mail-in voting

Letter I sent to Wyoming U.S. Senators Barrasso and Enzi:

We are lucky here in Wyoming that we have easy access to voting and competent county clerks to ensure that the rules are followed. I've seen many election days as an election judge. When we switched from paper to electronic voting, all of us received training on the new systems. 

Up until the most recent primary, I always voted in person. The experience was gratifying. When I worked the polls, I had many opportunities to work with old friends and to see my neighbors arrive, enthusiastic to do their civic duty. It always seemed like a holiday, even when I had to take the day off from my state job to be at the precinct.

Now that I am retired and partially disabled, I no longer work the polls and no longer venture out to my polling place which are now called voting centers instead of the old precinct set-up. I voted absentee and so did my wife and daughter. My wife is a type-one diabetic and we both are worried about Covid-19 as are most high-risk seniors. So we requested and received absentee ballots without needing an explanation because that is how Wyoming does it.

We will also vote absentee in the general election. All of the news about the slowdown at the U.S. Postal Service concerns us. Yes, we can always go to the city and county building and our ballots into the secure drop-off box. But this also means that we have to drive down there, find a parking place, put on our masks, and go to the drop-off box. What makes absentee voting by mail so preferable is the obvious ease of the process. Mail delivery is quick here in Cheyenne. I often mail a bill one day and see the debit in my account within days. 

So why is Postmaster DeJoy messing around with a system that works so well? I am suspicious of the timing of the dismantling of the quick-sorting machines and removal of convenient postal boxes. Absentee and mail-in voting depends on a dependable USPS. Mr. DeJoy assures us that the system has not been slowed down and then we see that he was a major donor to Mr. Trump and was then appointed to the postmaster position. As I was always told as a government employee, do not create any conflict of interest or even the appearance of one. 

Mr. DeJoy appears to have a conflict of interest and should be removed. I also urge you to support the House bill that guarantees the efficiency and funding of the USPS. If you don't, we can only assume that you support Mr. Trump's campaign to sabotage the post office and suppress the vote. You do believe in everyone's access to the polls, don't you? Then make sure that the functions of the American voting system, once the model for the world, will not be interfered with. 

We are watching.

Sincerely,

Michael Shay

P.S.: When I write letters like these, I tone it down. I want the senator or most likely his staff members to read it and I can register my complaint. If I wrote a letter saying what I really felt, it would start something like "Dear Sen. Barrasso: You miserable son of a bitch and Moscow Mitch ass-kisser. Stop f*cking around with our right to vote." Something like that. There are many ways I could phrase it. I am a concerned citizen and elder of my tribe so I am supposed to show a little couth, even when blogging. I try to do the same on Facebook because I know that Big Brother FB is watching. So, if Republicans keep up their attacks on voting, I may have to adopt a tougher stance. My missives may not get read but I will feel much better.