US appeal ruling barring postal service changes ahead of election

WASHINGTON (Reuters) –

The US Postal Service (USPS), Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and President Donald Trump appealed on Friday evening a federal judge’s decision suspending service changes and demanding aggressive action to ensure ballot delivery ahead of the presidential election in November, the justice ministry said.

The government said it was appealing U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan’s preliminary injunction orders issued in late September in two court challenges. Sullivan ordered the USPS to take “extraordinary measures” to ensure millions of ballots are delivered in the mail and has held numerous hearings on the status of the ballots.

It is not immediately clear what the impact of the appeal would be at this late stage, given that the final deadlines for accepting the mailed ballots for the November 6 election had passed. Joe Biden has been declared president-elect by Reuters and many other news outlets.

The White House, the Department of Justice and the USPS did not immediately comment on Friday night.

Sullivan also ordered twice-daily sweeps at USPS facilities serving states with extended ballot reception times.

At a hearing earlier this month, Sullivan said he would ask DeJoy to answer questions about why the Postal Service failed to conduct a court-ordered sweep for ballots. vote not delivered.

Sullivan had said DeJoy “will either have to be deposed or appear before me and testify under oath as to why certain measures have not been taken.”