Dozens Protest in Front of Postmaster General’s D.C. Condo

Demonstrators marched to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s home in Washington, D.C., on Saturday to protest recent changes at the U.S. Postal Service that are leaving many Americans concerned about the agency’s ability to handle the massive amount of mail-in ballots expected in this year’s presidential election.

Dozens of protesters marched through Northwest D.C.’s Kalorama neighborhood before holding a loud protest in the middle of Connecticut Avenue — right in front of the condo where DeJoy lives.

The noisy demonstration — which lasted about an hour — was aimed at sounding an alarm on service cuts and reported slowdowns happening at post offices across the U.S.

Some of the protesters banged on empty buckets, plus pots and pans, while other protesters blasted air horns and sirens.

Almost all of the demonstrators chanted and sang protest-themed songs to express their concerns over the changes taking place at the U.S. Postal Service — which demonstrators fear will result in suppressing votes in the presidential election on Nov. 3, where absentee and mail-in voting is expected to see a significant rise due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Forty percent of Americans plan on casting their votes by mail this year,” said Patrick Young, one of the demonstration’s organizers.

“We need to make sure that those votes get to elections officials on time.”

Other protesters expressed similar worries over the U.S. Postal Service being manipulated for political reasons.

“I think a lot of it is about suppressing votes,” said a protester named Margot, who lives in Maryland.

“The postal service is an essential service of our country — not only in the midst of this pandemic to deliver ballots to people and make sure our elections function as they should, but also to deliver medicine, to deliver paperwork.”

A D.C. man who gave his name as “K.C.” said the mail “is a fundamental thing that everybody has in this country … This is one more tool that they’re trying to use in a systematic method to try and weaken democracy.”

The demonstration was organized by Shut Down DC and was one of multiple protests planned for D.C. this weekend. The event was called “Wake Up Louis! We’re Delivering Democracy.”

Demonstrators placed mock mail-in ballots on the front door of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s Washington, D.C., apartment building on Saturday. Photo by John Domen/WTOP

At one point some of the protesters took mock absentee ballots — which were all blank inside — and stuck them to the front door of the building where DeJoy’s condo is located.

“Save the post office, save our democracy” was stamped on each ballot.

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