USPS employee refusing service?

[MissMillie]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/tell-me-youre-in-maga-country-without-telling-me-usps-worker-refuses-service-to-woman-submitting-absentee-ballot/ar-AA13DcYe?pc=U483&cvid=5152cf11bab24401ad5f1c5f6f4271ca

‘Tell me youre in maga country without telling me’: USPS worker refuses service to woman submitting absentee ballot

A woman says a Smokey Point, Wash. USPS worker refused to take her mail-in ballot, claiming he said he could "refuse service to anyone" in a now-viral TikTok. She believes that this was an attempt at "voter interference."

In the video posted by TikToker Jenn Marie (@_jenn_marie_) on Oct. 25, she stands outside of the USPS branch and shows the pre-paid mail-in ballot envelope that was rejected at the counter.

"Tell me you live in MAGA country, without telling me you live in MAGA country," she says in the clip. "I am actually a resident of the state of Pennsylvania because my wife is in the Navy. So I have to vote absentee."

She continues to state that the worker said he "has the right to refuse service to anyone, so you're going to have to take that somewhere else" when she tried to submit her mail-in ballot.

The caption reads, "Sir, I will literally buy a plane ticket to PA before you stifle my vote."

********************************

Apparently, some of the replies suggested she contact the Postmaster General to file a complaint. LOL

Obviously, the employee must be fired immediately.

[HiltonHeadDem]

1. There is a bit more to the story

https://www.king5.com/article/news/politics/elections/viral-video-voting-concerns/281-1175a53b-b2bc-479a-9dea-d5f4455bbc4f

[ItsjustMe]

3. She claims she was not allowed to film inside.

But that is not true, you can film inside of a post office.

The post office is a public building.

[intheflow]

6. I work in a public library and we forbid filming

without authorization. It's a privacy issue. Would you want the Proud Boys filming anyone who checks out a book about GLBTQ+ issues or CRT? Government buildings often have restrictions on filming due to similar safety concerns, or, like in the Capital recon tours before J6, that they'd film building vulnerabilities for an attack. It's not illegal to film, but it likely requires permission.

[867-5309.]

12. You can't forbid filming in a government building

Your not granting "permission" wouldn't matter. If someone insisted and you called the cops they would tell you no laws were being broken. There's no expectation of privacy in a public place, nor should there be.

[ItsjustMe]

18. No permission is needed to film inside a "public" library.

You will find security cameras in every public library or post office..

[intheflow]

25. Those are internal security cameras.

They aren’t people trying to intimidate library users who have a right to privacy. Cambridge (MA) public library spells this out clearly, with footnotes to court cases upholding patrons’ right to browse and read without scrutiny.

https://www.cambridgema.gov/cpl/aboutus/privacyandyourlibraryrights

[MarineCombatEngineer]

23. Umm, you should probably watch some of the 1A auditors

that do film inside Post Offices, Libraries, Govt. buildings, it's perfectly legal because they are tax payer funded buildings, anywhere the public is allowed to be, they are allowed to film.

There is no permission required to film in publicly accessible areas as long as there is no interference, you cannot be trespassed from a public building unless a crime is committed, and filming is not a crime.

Many cities have lost lawsuits because of trespassing someone off of public property without cause.

In 2018, DHS distributed a memo to all Fed. buildings that filming in publicly accessible areas is perfectly legal, in Post Offices, there is a Poster 7 which outlines the rules and regs of the Post Office and it is perfectly legal to film for news purposes without prior permission, many cops have found this out to their chagrin for being wrong and sued.

Bottom line is that it is perfectly legal to film in any publicly accessible area of any Fed./State/Local Govt. building without prior approval.

I suspect that one day a 1A auditor will show up at your library and you will learn that lesson.

[intheflow]

26. 1A auditors are part of the process and

I guarantee they got permission to be there. Also, we trespass people all the time at the library, usually because they’re being disruptive, even if what they’re doing isn’t technically illegal. Government employees aren’t obligated to work in an hostile atmosphere any more than people who work in private businesses. I’ve worked in public libraries in two states, this is SOP.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

27. I guarantee they did not get permission to film,

they don't need permission to film as long as they aren't disruptive and stay in publicly accessible areas that they're allowed to be in.

There are literally hundreds of videos disproving what you're saying here, and many states and police depts have been successfully sued because of illegally trespassing someone from public property.

Here's a question for you, do you think that someone who is trespassed off a property, whether it's private or public property, has to show ID to a cop?

The answer would be no, you have to be given a chance to leave, it's only trespassing if you refuse to leave or return, otherwise you can tell the cops to go fuck themselves and refuse legally, again, many cities and cop shops have found this out the hard way.

[intheflow]

28. Okay, if all government buildings are open to cameras,

why isn't anyone allowed to film SCOTUS proceedings? It's a government building. But do go on.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

30. They can film inside the publicly accessible areas of the SC, but most courts don't allow filming

inside the actual courtroom without permission.

You can stand outside of a military base and film it also, as long as you're on public property, the eyes cannot be trespassed.

I am well versed on this subject and I know what I'm talking about.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

29. I urge you to watch some of the 1A audits by

an auditor called Long Island Audits, he never gets prior permission, he doesn't have to, it's a first amendment protected activity and even if he's removed, in the end he wins, your library may have a policy against filming without prior permission, but policy is not law and if a 1A auditor shows up one day at your library, you and the cops will learn that lesson.

The reason is that most people don't know their rights and allow the govt employees and cops bully them, but those that do know their rights don't and in the end, they win with a nice payday courtesy of the tax payers.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

7. A person needs permission from the postmaster to take photos or video in a post office building.

[ItsjustMe]

13. Not True

You can film and take pictures in the public area of a public post office

[WhiskeyGrinder]

14. .

https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2008/html/pb22228/html/info_005.html

Photography and Filming for Personal Use

Informal snapshots from handheld cameras for personal use may be allowed at the postmaster’s discretion provided that there is no disruption to Postal Service operations and that the pictures are taken from areas accessible to the public. In these cases, no prior permis­sion is required from the Office of Rights and Permissions; however, no lighting or scaffolding may be set up, and no picture can depict any Postal Service employee, customer, security camera, or cover of mail (i.e., the exterior of a mail­piece, which would show customer name and address among other things). Postmasters may restrict any and all photography if they determine that it is disruptive or there are potential security concerns.

[A HERETIC I AM]

15. Not true. Refer to Poster 7

https://about.usps.com/posters/pos7.pdf

The wording is a little vague, but unless there are signs specifically prohibiting the taking of photos, you are allowed to photograph the lobby areas of Post Offices for “News, Advertising, or Commercial Purposes”

Since anyone can claim they are a journalist, it becomes a bit of a grey area. Plenty of so-called First Amendment Auditors on YouTube have tested this.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

22. .

https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2008/html/pb22228/html/info_005.html

Photography and Filming for Personal Use

Informal snapshots from handheld cameras for personal use may be allowed at the postmaster’s discretion provided that there is no disruption to Postal Service operations and that the pictures are taken from areas accessible to the public. In these cases, no prior permis­sion is required from the Office of Rights and Permissions; however, no lighting or scaffolding may be set up, and no picture can depict any Postal Service employee, customer, security camera, or cover of mail (i.e., the exterior of a mail­piece, which would show customer name and address among other things). Postmasters may restrict any and all photography if they determine that it is disruptive or there are potential security concerns.

As I say elsewhere, a person could quibble about permission vs. discretion.

[867-5309.]

17. Not true

If the post office called the police for such a thing, they could do nothing. Nor should they be able to forbid it. It's the public area of a government building.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

20. .

https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2008/html/pb22228/html/info_005.html

Photography and Filming for Personal Use

Informal snapshots from handheld cameras for personal use may be allowed at the postmaster’s discretion provided that there is no disruption to Postal Service operations and that the pictures are taken from areas accessible to the public. In these cases, no prior permis­sion is required from the Office of Rights and Permissions; however, no lighting or scaffolding may be set up, and no picture can depict any Postal Service employee, customer, security camera, or cover of mail (i.e., the exterior of a mail­piece, which would show customer name and address among other things). Postmasters may restrict any and all photography if they determine that it is disruptive or there are potential security concerns.

A person could quibble about permission vs. discretion, but if the Tiktoker came in hot and was videoing the employee right off, that's a problem.

The cops wouldn't be the ones enforcing it. It would be the postal inspector service.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

24. Not for news purposes,

you should check out some of the videos posted on YouTube by the 1A auditors.

There is a Poster 7 in every Post Office in the country that outlines the rules and regs of the post office and one of them is filming is perfectly legal for news purposes without permission

Many cops have learned that painful lesson the hard way.

[ashredux]

4. This isnt as clear cut as it appears....

“ The form was a single sheet with a prepaid stamp printed on it. The form also had much of Edwards' personal information. She wasn't comfortable folding up a flimsy piece of paper and putting it in the mail…”

1. “Flimsy”?
2. Get an envelope, address it, put a stamp on it, and bingo…your done
3. The Postal Service is a mess, true, and DeJoy needs to go…but this is overblown IMO

[FBaggins]

5. And I don't think Arlington is "MAGA country"

I think that's Rick Larsen's district. D+16

[lildDemz]

9. Snohomish County

runs east into the mountains and has plenty of MAGA.

[Sympthsical]

10. Yeah, that didn't seem quite right

And it was absolutely framed as "MAGA refuses ballot!" (gotta get the most nefarious read on the situation)

"Went viral and was viewed over 4 million times."

Good job, internet. You spread bullshit.

I love this quote: "the situation got heated."

Yeah. I can absolutely imagine how that went. What's the over/under she started melting down and the worker tried washing his hands of it. I live for post office meltdowns. They're always so fascinating. It's like every frustration in someone's life narrows down into that pinpoint of a moment and implodes on the worker.

Good they're training employees how to deal with different ballots. Any opportunity to do that is never amiss.

[bonniebgood]

8. sounds like a BS STORy to me. nt

[Samrob]

11. No, don't call the Postmaster General. Go straight to the DOJ, FBI.

I wonder now, how many mail-in ballots are being lost, destroyed by RW MAGAs who work in post offices? If this is true, we all need to be worried. The total destruction of the US postal services would be the last straw in the death of our democracy and its associated institutions.

[SuperCoder]

19. And the fact that...

Louis effing DeJoy is still in charge. I just don't understand it. Biden has the power now to fire him. It should have been done months ago.

Surely he knows better than to allow a MAGGAT to run the post office during election times?

[A HERETIC I AM]

21. None. That's how many.

NONE. If any postal worker inside a facility of any size was destroying mail, they would get caught and prosecuted.

The likelihood of what you suggest actually happening is miniscule.

[Farmer-Rick]

16. Wow weird coincidence

PA was a difficult state to vote in with absentee ballot back in the 1980s. Weird because I was in the Navy too and PA was a terrible state to get an absentee ballot accepted.

When I was stationed overseas, I was a resident of PA. Back then, you had to register to vote each time you voted by absentee ballot and you had to register a year ahead of time to get a ballot. I even got the JAG officer to look into it for me because I was able to vote absentee before and he said they changed the laws.

So, it went like this: one year I voted, and the next year, I registered because I forgot to register last year. Luckily it only lasted for 4 years. Then I moved to MD and changed my state of residence, where it was easier to vote absentee.

I never understood why the GOP had such cumbersome and difficult absentee voting procedures since the majority of the military I knew were very conservative. They voted for GOPers mostly when I was in the Navy because Raygun promised/gave them a pay raise.

[IzzaNuDay]

31. The USPS worker was trying to protect client

Client thought just mailing a piece of paper with a stamp was good enough for USPS. It doesn’t work that way. That piece of paper would choke mail handling systems, and probably get destroyed in the process.

I cannot believe there was no envelope available for that document. Or that the woman had any common sense knowing how to send mail properly.