(The Center Square) – Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs wants Attorney General Mark Brnovich to investigate President Donald Trump's recent orders regarding the U.S. Postal Service.
Hobbs, a Democrat, said Friday that interfering with a ballot's delivery is illegal under state law.
"Faith in and reliance on our ballot-by-mail system is nonpartisan, with the vast majority of ballots for each party being cast this way," she said in her Friday letter to Brnovich. "During this pandemic, it is clear that voters have decided that voting by mail is the safest way to exercise their right while protecting their health."
The questions come from an Aug. 7 announcement from Postmaster General Louis DeJoy about changes to USPS's organizational structure.
The changes, Hobbs said in her letter, include hiring freezes, elimination of overtime, and the removal of some mail sorting machines.
While DeJoy insists the changes focus on offering the most efficient service, Hobbs contends the moves are essentially cost-cutting measures that could put the delivery of mail-in ballots in jeopardy.
"The effect of these changes, taken individually or together, is an extended transit period for mail," she said.
Brnovich, a Republican, responded to the letter Friday.
“We review every complaint, regardless of merit," he said. "Confidence in elections is the cornerstone of our democracy. I will continue to protect the integrity of our elections, even when other state officials won’t.”
USPS has long ran deficits. According to the Government Accountability Office, USPS has lost $69 billion over the last 11 fiscal years, not including another $8.8 in the 2019 fiscal year.
USPS General Counsel Thomas Marshall sent Hobbs a letter in May and again in late July warning her that the state's deadlines for mail-in ballots may run up too close to the deadline for delivery to polling places.
"...under our reading of Arizona's election laws, certain deadlines for requesting and casting mail-in ballots are incongruous with the Postal Service's delivery standards," he said. "This mismatch creates a risk that ballots requested near the deadline under state law will not be returned by mail in time to be counted under your laws as we understand them."
Marshall suggested voters use first-class mail at least 15 days before election day at a minimum.
The Maricopa County Elections Department announced Friday afternoon that 2.4 million registered voters cast 860,704 total ballots in the August 2020 primary election, equaling a 35 percent turnout. A record 92.6 percent voted by mail, beating the previous record of 78 percent in 2018.