Post Office Rallies In Camden County Set; Local Leaders Speak Out

CAMDEN COUNTY, NJ — There are two rallies for the post office scheduled for Camden County this week as local Democrats and Republicans speak out on the issue.

Rep. Donald Norcross (D-1) announced late Monday afternoon that he will join a rally in Bellmawr "to highlight the urgent need to protect the Postal Service." A second rally is set for a site in Camden County to be named later. That rally will take place on Friday.

Norcross announced that he will join postal workers and local officials at the United States Postal Service in Bellmawr at noon on Tuesday. Anyone who can't attend in person can watch the rally as it streams live on Facebook.

"The Postal Service is a pillar of our democracy, enshrined in the Constitution and essential for providing critical services: delivering prescriptions, Social Security checks, paychecks, tax returns and vote-by-mail ballots to millions of Americans," Norcross said.

On Monday, local leaders on both sides of the aisle spoke out on the issue.

“Recent reports in both regional and national publications have uncovered a disturbing effort which is underway to systematically incapacitate the U.S. Postal Service," Camden County Freeholder Melinda Kane said on Monday. "Unfortunately, it is no coincidence that this effort is occurring during the run up to an election that will be largely conducted by mail. President Trump said so himself last week, admitting that he opposed additional funding to assist the USPS because it would allow states to employ widespread vote-by-mail balloting. Let’s be clear: voting by mail is a safe and reliable way to cast your ballot, and the USPS should not be subject to political attacks."

While not mentioning the U.S. Postal Service directly, Gloucester County Republican Chairwoman Jacci Vigilante called on Gov. Phil Murphy to pause his plan for a general election conducted primarily by vote-by-mail and allow the state legislature to fast-track an early voting bill that will give voters the opportunity to vote on machines at polling places to avoid any issues.

“While not perfect a fast-tracked early voting bill is a solid compromise and a solution that is better than vote-by-mail,” Vigilante said. “The Democrats, including Senate President Steve Sweeney, have been pushing early voting for years. Many voters want to vote on machines and not fill in ovals on a piece of paper. Early voting on machines gives everyone a little bit of what they want.”

Vigilante said that less than three weeks ago, State Sen. Brian Stack (D-33) proposed an early voting bill, saying that if he could get it in by Sept. 1, it could work.

“We know bills move fast when they want them to," Vigilante said. "Remember how fast they moved the bill to allow Cooper Hospital to gain control of both paramedic service and ambulance service in Camden? That bill moved faster than Senator Cory Booker moves toward a TV camera.

“Early voting, even with a reduced number of polling places, solves the problem of voter safety during the pandemic. Because the election would be spread out over a period of about 15 days the concern of long lines at polling places goes away, social distancing can easily be practiced. Voters who don’t want to fill in ovals on a piece of paper still get to vote on a machine and will likely stand in a line shorter than the one at the local Shop Rite. If the governor’s true concern is voter safety he will sit down with legislative leadership and get to work on a solid general election plan that makes everybody a little bit happy.”

Kane said Camden County casts more vote-by-mail ballots than anywhere else in the state, and has not had a problem in the many years that it has done so.

"Vote by mail drop boxes have made this process even easier without sacrificing security," Kane said. "Furthermore, thousands of our residents rely on the USPS for the delivery of prescription medications, benefits checks, and other critical documentation. When we put the operation of the postal service and letter carriers’ ability to operate in jeopardy, we are risking the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans.

The statement came days before a rally sponsored by the South Jersey Progressive Democrats that was scheduled to take place in Camden County from noon to 1 p.m. on Friday, A specific location will be named later.

According to organizers, the protest is being held to support the United States Postal Service and voting by mail efforts in the 2020 general election. Read more here: Here's How NJ's Mail-In General Election Will Work (What To Know)

Face masks and 6-foot social distancing requirements will be "strictly complied with," organizers said. Other rallies are slated for Friday in Cumberland County, Rio Grande, Toms River and Vineland. See a list here.

“Donald Trump’s attacks and defunding of the postal system are a direct threat to the right to vote and the integrity of the election and even now are delaying Americans from getting the medicine and mail they need,” Blue Wave NJ said in a statement. “We must act now to stop this attack and protect our election process.”

"We should all be focused on making voting easier, not harder, especially during a pandemic which makes it dangerous to crowd into polling places and share voting machines," Kane said. "Camden County residents should rest assured that they will be able to safely cast their ballot, whether by mail, drop box, or in-person provisional ballot, this election season.

"In short, this is another offensive ploy to tear down the institutions of our democracy by President Trump. I am sure the nation’s first Postmaster General, Benjamin Franklin, is rolling over in his grave at the mere thought of the actions that have already been taken to deconstruct the postal service. Removing postal collection boxes and mail sorting machines are further proof that we need federal intervention to preserve the USPS and ensure it is prepared to process millions of ballots that will be submitted by mail come November.”

To learn more about the Camden County rally and to RSVP, visit bluewavenj.org.

With reporting by Eric Kiefer, Patch Staff