photo by: Elvyn Jones

Steve Braswell, of Lawrence, carries a sign Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020, at a protest in front of the downtown Lawrence post office.

About 15 protesters gathered Saturday at the downtown Lawrence post office to protest what they viewed as a transparent attempt by the Trump administration to slow down mail delivery and discourage mail voting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The protesters said they were astonished by the cuts that U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy had made to the United States Postal Service since he took over in June, including getting rid of overtime for employees and removing mailboxes and letter sorting machines in some parts of the country. And they accused DeJoy and President Donald Trump of imposing the cuts for their own political gain.

“Think about the history and heroism of the Pony Express,” said protester Steve Braswell, of Lawrence. “Those guys risked their lives carrying the mail. They have to be turning over in their graves with what is happening.”

The Lawrence protest was one of many Save the Post Office rallies that took place across the nation on Saturday. The protests came a day after DeJoy testified before a U.S. Senate committee, saying that the changes he had ordered were money-saving moves and were not designed to slow mail delivery and thus discourage voting by mail. He also told senators the Postal Service would prioritize the delivery of ballots.

But DeJoy’s assurances didn’t impress Braswell’s wife, Kendall Simmons, who organized the protest at the urging of fellow Lawrence resident Ruthann Reigle. Simmons noted that DeJoy was a large Trump campaign donor, and that the president has repeatedly expressed opposition to increased mail-in voting during the pandemic.

“We know the president doesn’t want people to vote by mail,” Simmons said. “He knows more people will vote against him than will vote for him.”

Simmons said she received an advance ballot automatically because she has a disability. She intends to vote by mail and said she feels confident her ballot will be counted because of the Douglas County Clerk’s Office’s thorough online tracking system.

But Reigle was not so confident in the efficiency of the local post office in the weeks before the election.

“I’m going to hand-deliver my ballot,” she said.

Reigle said Saturday’s protest was about more than just election mail — it was about protecting a public service that’s a lifeline for many people.

“A lot of people get medicine or Social Security checks through the mail,” she said. “I don’t, but I live in rural Douglas County and a lot of neighbors do.”

Simmons said the goal of the protest was to increase awareness of the Postal Service issue, and she was encouraged by the many passing motorists who honked their horns in support.

Ann Snow, of Lawrence, said she came to the event to support the Postal Service and to call for more federal support. Congress needs to act soon to put the Postal Service on more solid fiscal footing, she said.

“It’s been a long time coming,” she said. “It’s been in trouble since the 2006 law that requires the Postal Service pre-fund all retirement pensions.”