SALT LAKE CITY — The American Postal Workers Union launched a campaign in Utah and other states promoting vote-by-mail.
This comes as a federal judge on Thursday declined to intervene in President Donald Trump’s executive order on mail-in voting. The order involves compiling data to vet voter rolls for non-citizens and providing the U.S. Postal Service with a list of eligible mail-in voters.
The judge, a Trump appointee in Washington, ruled that arguments against the order were too speculative. Voter advocacy groups say the president does not have the authority to carry out those directives.
The American Postal Workers Union launched the TV ad campaign this week. Postal workers and voting rights advocates gathered in Salt Lake City on Thursday to present the campaign and discuss vote-by-mail and its role in elections.
“I have family that live in the middle of Utah in Fillmore and Meadow who are not able to get out easily to the polls,” said Amy Parke, president of the Utah Postal Workers Union, during Thursday’s news conference at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center. “I also have a disabled mother who lives in Salt Lake City who actually depends on vote by mail because she’s not able to get out and about.”
She said vote-by-mail is used regularly by voters in rural Utah and by military members, postal workers, flight attendants, farmers, seniors, utility workers and emergency responders.
“These are not actors. These are people who volunteered to be in this ad because again they’re not able to use the regular stand in line vote,” Parke said.
Katharine Biele, president of the League of Women Voters of Utah, said the group believes the changes could make the process more complicated for some voters.
“The league of win voters calls this blatant voter suppression,” Biele said. "When you make voting more difficult, more confusing, when you add unnecessary steps to the process. You inevitably decrease turn out."
She said her group filed a lawsuit against the president’s vote-by-mail executive order. The union said the ad campaign is running in states with primary elections and will continue through the weekend.
The group said 1.2 million ballots are arriving at the local post office this week for delivery starting June 2.
“It’s important to them that their voice and their vote’s choice is not infringed upon,” Parke said.
