BREAKING: Temporary restraining order granted. The @USPS must stop sending misinformation to Colorad

[soothsayer]

Link to tweet

?s=21


Jena Griswold
@JenaGriswold
BREAKING: Temporary restraining order granted. The @USPS must stop sending misinformation to Colorado voters.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. Is that about those postcards so many of us have already gotten?

Although I'm not in Colorado.

[soothsayer]

4. Yeah, it's apparently really wrong info for that state

[Igel]

5. The one's posted here (in facsimile) have been innocuous.

The press has been incendiary, as expected.

[pnwmom]

8. It contained misinformation. Voters who believed all its points were more likely

to miss the deadline of getting their votes to count. For example, with the pandemic on, voters definitely should NOT wait till 15 days before the election to request their ballot.

[Kaleva]

19. You are pushing misinformation yourself

I got the flyer and it does not say wait till 15 days before the election before requesting the ballot. It says to request your ballot at least 15 days before the Election. Big difference. In Michigan, a registered vote can request a ballot up to the Friday before Election day.

[pnwmom]

21. That's a distinction without a difference. If someone waits till 15 days before the election

to request, there's a good chance they won't receive it in time to mail it back in time -- no matter what the law says.

The LAW assumes a fully functional post office. The Post office is the problem.

[Kaleva]

24. Do you really think that if I requested a ballot the Friday before the election....

that I'd receive it in time to fill it out and mail it back so it'd be counted even if the Post Office was operating at peak efficiency? Or do you think I ought to follow the advice on the USPS flyer where the first thing it says is to start today?

[pnwmom]

25. The information on the postcard wasn't correct for Colorado. The Federal judge agreed it potentially

could disenfranchise some voters.

In Colorado people aren't limited to mailing the ballots. They can be delivered in person or put in drop boxes.

So I don't think CO people are better off following the "advice" on the postcards that only mentions mailing them.

https://www.denverpost.com/2020/09/12/jena-griswold-usps-lawsuit-election-misinformation/


A federal judge Saturday night temporarily barred the U.S. Postal Service from sending an election mailer that state Attorney General Phil Weiser and Colorado’s top election official argued contained incorrect information for Colorado voters.

“The Court recognizes that removing the (mailer) from circulation may impose limited burdens on Defendants. Such burdens, however, pale in comparison to the potential disenfranchisement of registered voters within Colorado,” U.S. District Judge William Martinez wrote in the ruling.

The mailer, already received by some Colorado voters, “provides false or misleading information about the manner of Colorado’s elections by stating that voters should ‘[r]equest [their] mail-in ballot (often called ‘absentee’ ballot) at least 15 days before Election Day’ and ‘mail [their] ballot at least 7 days before Election Day,” the ruling said.

In fact, Colorado voters receive a ballot automatically and they do not need to mail it back, Voters can instead use a drop-box or vote in person.

[Kaleva]

26. Again, the flyer clearly says that rules and dates vary by state.

And it provides a link where one can check the rules and dates of one's state.

Every election, a percentage of absentee ballots are rejected because voters can't follow basic and clear instructions. The IKEA challenged. It's going to be worse this year because of the large number of voters who will be voting absentee.

[pnwmom]

27. And it would be worse for CO voters if they relied on the post card for information. n/t

[Kaleva]

28. I get what you are saying. We are just having a difference of opinion about it.

Take care!

[pnwmom]

30. You, too!

We're on the same team, and we have the same goal!

[dpibel]

9. You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

If you send an official-looking USPS notice to people telling them to send it RIGHT NOW for their ballot, but they live in a state where they will get their ballot without asking, you are strewing confusion.

You, wise Igel that you are, may find that innocuous.

Lesser mortals might think it could be confusing.

If the only strategy you have is to spread FUD, as is the case with the Trump campaign, then sending out confusing official documents is a win.

Can I do anything further to help you understand?

[soldierant]

14. I might also note it isn't just the USPS.

Well meaning GOTV groups are sending out information by email, and probably through phone calls, which does not apply on Colorado - or Oregon, or Washington, or California, and I believe now also in Utah.

I'm in Colorado and I get multiple emails every day telling me to request my absentee ballot NOW! These are not from Republicans. They are from groups which i really don't like to embarrass because they are doing good work in other states.

But it gets frustrating.

[RhodeIslandOne]

13. I got one today.

Didn’t look too closely. I thought USPS was actually trying to deliver correct info.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

16. The post card does say that each state has different rules.

Which is incredibly crucial.

Here on DU, where presumably people are somewhat sophisticated in these matters, there have been a distressing number of posts asking basic questions about absentee ballots. Excuse me? What part of Every State Has Different Rules have you missed??

Maybe its because I've moved several times as an adult that I'm very aware that different states have different rules. It does seem to me as though when I speak to friends who have lived most, sometimes all, of their lives in one state, they really don't understand that it is different elsewhere. They think that what they see where they are is either normal, or unique to their place. It's not necessarily either.

Here's an example that has nothing to do with politics or voting. I live in Santa Fe, NM. I really do love it here, but I've been amazed ever since I moved here in 2008 at how many people fill up their garages with whatever and park their cars on the street. I have a very good friend who has lived here since 1974, and even though he parks his car in his garage, he assumes that filling up the garage and parking cars on the street is absolutely normal. Trust me. I've lived in various places, and Santa Fe stands out as a place where people fill up their garages with excess stuff and park their cars on the street. It really does not happen in most other places.

A friend who lives in the Pittsburgh area often seems to think that drivers there are unusually bad. Guess what? They aren't. There are bad drivers everywhere. Some parts of the country have particular flaws. Here in Santa Fe running red lights is egregious. When I become dictator of this state, as soon as the traffic light turns red a barrier will come up and stop your car. I'm guessing that within a month or two the red light running that is so pervasive now will disappear almost miraculously.

[lostnfound]

18. USPS could have customized for the 50 states, but DIDN'T. Why not?

The right wing is customizing messages down to the individual person, but the GOP run post office sends out confusing or misleading messages when they could easi,y have printed them appropriate for particular states or groups of states.

[Kaleva]

20. The card provides a link to check each state's rules

And it clearly says that "Rules and dates vary by state, so contact your election board to confirm. Find links at usps.com/votinginfo.".

[LanternWaste]

29. Hence, the court's order of restraint...?

Yours simply does not follow.

Next.

[Blue Owl]

2. K&R

[bluedigger]

3. Got mine today.

No delivery slow down here.

[colorado_ufo]

6. I always use one of the designated, exclusive drop boxes for ballots.

So easy to do I almost don't have to stop the car! Just drive by and throw it in. Super convenient and no concern about delivery times.

BTW, Jena Griswold is a ROCK STAR! She does terrific television interviews and has huge poise and presence. I would like to see her climb the political ladder to the top - although Colorado would hate to lose her!

[wcmagumba]

7. Arrived today in Kansas...

I'm already getting a mailed out ballot and will drive it to the election office drop box...

[Renew Deal]

10. I think those went out nationally.

It might be too late.

[Progressive Jones]

11. I guess I missed something. Who is issuing this "misinformation"? Thanks. nt

[DallasNE]

15. This Is From Memory

I USPS failed to notice an error in a mailing before they sent it to the printers. When the later discovered the error in preparation for mailing they sought to send it back to the printers with the correction but the Postmaster General ordered the original be mailed rather than to delay the mailing while waiting for a corrected form to come back from the printers. How it got sent to the printers without it first being proofed is a mystery but staffing has been cut and overtime has been ended.

[Progressive Jones]

23. Thanks, DallasNE. nt

[Orrex]

12. Why isn't that a crime a la mail fraud?

[katmondoo]

17. I think the information on the post card was legitimate, seems now they are trying to discredit it.

I will mail my ballot shortly after receiving it. Most people will anyway.

[not_the_one]

22. We got the postcard here in PA... HAVEN'T received the ballots, yet.

The post card is just the basic generic info (I think what everyone else received). Requesting our mail-in ballot (often called "absentee" ) at least 15 days before the election is a tad late, I would think. It does say go to usps.com/votinginfo...

But the card, to be specific, would require nothing more than a cut/copy/paste at headquarters, and could be emailed to the different printers for different states. It could be done in mere seconds. Yet the generic, ambiguous, go find out for yourself version is what went out. I'm sure that was just fine with Mr. DeJoy, Mr. Turd and Mr. Putinski.

Besides, some of us (especially we older types) are easily confused by what we see on that there new-fangled monitor type screen. Lots of options for lots of info, where to start?

I wanted to be sure we were on schedule since we had voted by mail for the primary. So I called the local office. Phone mail. Ok. They must be busy, and I wanted to speak to someone, so I called the next day. Phone mail. Tried a third day. Phone mail.

I finally sent an email and got a reply within a day.

Still, it was frustrating. Many people would just give up. Ballots were supposed to go out early September. It is now September 13th.

Don't call me paranoid. Shirley is just fine, though.