Rep. Stephen Lynch Concerned About Postal Service's Impact On Voting

BOSTON (CBS) - Massachusetts Congressman Stephen Lynch expressed concerns Tuesday that recent changes by the Postal Service will "impact America's right to vote." In a heated exchange with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy during Monday's congressional hearing, Lynch asked how DeJoy was able to "screw this up."

"The mail is piling up, and they're saying right now, as of last week - when I was at the postal facility in Brockton and in Boston - they're saying that the average time was like 2.3 days. So in a couple of days, you'd get your mail. Now, already, it's gone to five days in some cases," Lynch told WBZ-TV's Breana Pitts Tuesday.

"With the surge in ballots coming in, [the Postal Service] is concerned that they will not be able to keep up, and that mail will be able to pile up on the platform, which was not allowed before. Before they would send out someone with a truck on overtime to deliver the mail if there was an amount of mail that was left behind because they wanted to make that two-day deadline," Lynch said. "Now, it's a much different circumstance, and I'm fearful that it will impact America's right to vote."

Lynch told WBZ that he does not believe DeJoy's number one priority is to ensure election mail arrives in time.

"I don't trust him. I think that if we had an opportunity, I would encourage him to resign. But then again, we would end up with a Post Office without any leadership. Without a Postmaster General, I'm not confident that President Trump would appoint anyone more fit," he said.

When asked if there were any legal options available, Lynch said it may be too late to do so.

"I'm seven days away from the Democratic Primary in Massachusetts, 70 days away from the final election in November. We could easily burn a lot of time in court," said Lynch.

"I am happy to hear from my postal workers that they are working non-stop to make sure that this mail gets delivered. They are redoubling their efforts."

During DeJoy's hearing, Lynch said the Postal Service removed 671 high-speed mail-sorting machines. Other Democrats also questioned recent operational changes at the Postal Service, such as eliminating most overtime and ending extra package deliveries. When questioned by Lynch if the mail-sorting machines would be put back, Postmaster DeJoy said they would not and that the machines were "not necessary."