By Laurel Demkovich

The Spokesman-Review

A federal judge in Yakima granted a nationwide injunction Thursday that halts changes by the U.S. Postal Service that could slow mail ahead of the Nov. 3 election, arguing that the postal service is under a “politically motivated attack.”

U.S. District Court Judge Stanley Bastian issued the preliminary injunction that would block controversial changes implemented under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to save money.

In his ruling from the bench, Bastian noted President Donald Trump’s repeated attacks on vote-by-mail and his unfounded claims that it is rife with fraud. Bastian said the defendants took the “remarkable” position that nothing had changed in the approach to election mail.

“This is simply not true,” Bastian wrote. “The states have demonstrated the defendants are involved in a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service.”

With Bastian’s decision, the USPS must stop instructing mail carriers to leave mail behind for a later date, halt their “leave behind” policy that requires delivery trucks to leave at a set time regardless of whether mail is ready, continue to treat all election mail as First Class mail regardless of paid postage, and replace dismantled mail sorting machines.

“Today’s victory protects a critical institution for our country,” Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a statement. “Americans can now confidently vote by mail and have their voices heard.”

Ferguson led 13 other states in a lawsuit filed Aug. 18 to stop what he called “drastic changes” at the USPS that would jeopardize mail delivery across the country ahead of the election.

The lawsuit sought by Ferguson and 13 other states alleged the new changes caused “irreparable harm,” including delays in delivery of time-sensitive materials.

In his written ruling, Bastian said voter disenfranchisement is at the heart of DeJoy’s and the Postal Service’s actions, pointing to Trump’s “highly partisan” words and tweets, the effect of the changes on the primary elections and uncounted ballots, and recent attempts and lawsuits by the Republican National Committee and Trump’s campaign to stop the use of ballot drop boxes.

Bastian also cited research that states the majority of the decommissioned high-speed mail sorting machines were located in counties were Hillary Clinton received the most votes in 2016.