USPS reverses political mailings policy
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the Postal Service has reversed a policy denying “political mailing” status to candidates not affiliated with a political party. The newspaper quotes a letter to New mexico Congresswoman Heather Wilson: “The Postal Service will be clarifying its policies to make clear that nonpartisan political campaign mailings must receive the same treatment as partisan political campaign mailings,” The reversal apparently stems from a controversy involving a school committee candidate in Albuquerque, Robert Lucero. Lucero complained when campaign materials mailed five days before the election, were delivered after the election was over.
When Lucero demanded a refund of the $628 he had paid in postage, the USPS refused, claiming that the mailing was not entitled to “campaign mailings” status because the election was non-partisan. Lucero then contacted Congresswoman Wilson, who requested an OIG investigation into the matter. In July of this year, the Albuquerque Journal reported that “Sixteen months, several letters and a whole lot of miscommunication later, the postal service denied Lucero’s request for reimbursement — in a letter dated June 30 that also instructed Lucero not to write any more letters to the postal service about the matter. Postal officials have also refused to give Lucero a copy of the OIG report…”
The newspaper eventually received a copy of the report, but only after filing a Freedom of Information Act request. (The paper quoted the USPS spokesperson as saying “”Yes, it is a public document, but it is our policy not to give it to you”). The OIG report affirmed the denial of campaign mailing status. In an editorial, the Journal suggested “Surely the Postal Service wouldn’t adopt this preposterous position nationally. It’s much more likely this is a ham-handed attempt to avoid admitting it messed up.”
The next day Lucero was given a refund. The USPS still insisted that it had done nothing wrong, and that the refund was granted to “get this behind us”.
The OIG report on the case is not available on the USPS OIG web site, but the campaign mail policy that was in effect at the time of the Lucero mailing is available at the USPS web site, and it says: “Equal assistance must be provided to all committees of political parties, candidates, and candidates’ campaign committees, including those that do not represent major parties.” The rule leaves it up to local authorities to determine who is a politcal candidate: “An individual or organization recognized as such by the appropriate governmental election control authority is considered to be a registered political candidate or party.” Nowhere in the section is there any mention of the political party requirement cited by the OIG.
The updated guide to political and election mailings was published in yesterday’s Postal Bulletin.
