This is a case about whether the United States Postal Service's postal delivery and ballot service policy changes relevant to the 2020 presidential election were implemented in violation of federal law. In July 2020, Louis DeJoy became Postmaster General of the the United States Postal Service (USPS). DeJoy implemented new policies for USPS which reportedly resulted in a backlog of postal deliveries for all types of mail, including electoral ballots cast via mail.

On August 20, 2020, the the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People filed this suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The NAACP was represented by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (a separate organization) and Public Citizen; it sued USPS and the Postmaster General, alleging violations of agency responsibilities under the applicable USPS statutes. The plaintiff sought an injunction to reverse the USPS's recent policies and ensure that ballots for the upcoming 2020 elections would not be delayed. On September 9, 2020, fourteen US Senators filed amicus briefs in support of the NAACP. Later that month, the US House of Representatives filed a similar amicus in support of the NAACP.

On October 10, 2020, District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan granted a preliminary injunction to the LDF, citing serious, immediate, and recurring harms to NAACP members and the organization itself should the injunction not be granted. 496 F. Supp. 3d 1. Later that month, the NAACP filed an emergency motion to enforce and monitor USPS's compliance with the preliminary injunction. This emergency motion was granted by Judge Sullivan on October 27 with explicit instructions that any USPS personnel informed of the July policy be informed that the policy had been rescinded, with further instructions that USPS inform its personnel that extra trips would be required to address the backlog of mail with special attention for electoral ballots.

On December 9, 2020, the USPS appealed the decision on the preliminary injunction to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. On March 5, 2021, the NAACP filed an amended complaint addressing the delivery and handling of ballots in future elections. The appeal is currently pending in the D.C. Circuit and the case is ongoing in both the district and appellate court.

John Duffield - 06/03/2021


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