NC postal workers back mail-in ballot access with TV ad

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North Carolina postal workers support access to mail-in voting with a 30-second TV ad explaining its importance to millions of Americans. A third of all votes cast in the 2024 election cycle – 48 million in total – were mail-ins.

North Carolina postal workers are supporting access to mail-in voting.

The American Postal Workers Union debuted the 30-second spot, which explain the importance of mail-in ballots to voters who use it. The commercial ends with the message, “Vote by mail — keep it, protect it, expand it.”

“I love the ad,” said Miriam Bell, Charlotte branch president of the American Postal Workers Union, which represents 200,000 United States Postal Service employees. “It’s real. It’s relatable. I love the fact that these are real people, real volunteers. They’re not actors. These are nurses, firefighters, etc. It’s just relatable. It is relatable to everyday people, the exact people who are using mail-in voting.”

North Carolina was the first state to mail midterm election ballots earlier this month and on Sept. 15 the U.S. Supreme Court barred the USPS from creating rule changes to mail-in voting, which would impact millions of Americans. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March directing USPS to prohibit sending ballots to voters not on a federal list. The U.S. Constitution leaves states to decide how elections are carried out, including the policy method.

Mail-in voting has been utilized since the Civil War. In 2024, 1 in 3 voters – more than 48 million Americans – cast a ballot by mail, and every state allows some form of absentee voting. Eight states and the District of Columbia vote almost exclusively by mail-in ballots, which is particularly popular among people 65 and older as well suburban residents. 

According to United States Democracy Center, 1 in 4 registered Democrats and 1 in 5 registered Republicans voted by mail in 2024, as well as 1 in 5 voters who registered with other parties or as independent.

Despite the popularity of mail-in voting, it has come under attack by the Trump administration as a platform for election cheating without any evidence. As a result, the USPS devised new rules to restrict who is mailed a ballot while creating hurdles for voters outside of verified polling places. 

Daniel Matthews, North Carolina Council of American Postal Workers Union President, said the advertisement reassures people that their mail – and mail-in voting – are safe. 

“We’ve been processing mail-in ballots for generations,” he said, “for seniors, truck drivers, first responders, and the military. Politicians that are overseas, we process the ballots for everyone. It doesn’t matter if they’re blue, red, Republican, Democrat – it doesn’t matter. Their ballots are treated with the utmost care and extraordinary measures.”

In a 7-to-2 vote, the Supreme Court blocked the proposed changes, ruling they left no time for states to adjust since ballots had already gone out. North Carolina was the first state to mail ballots earlier this month.

“Ballots in North Carolina have already started going out and coming back,” said state Attorney General Jeff Jackson, who sued to block the changes. “The election is underway. It would have been impossible for the Postal Service to implement a whole new system in time for the election – especially since the new system doesn’t even exist yet. As Justice [Brett] Kavanaugh put it, ‘state and local officials do not have sufficient time to reasonably implement the rule before the elections.’ We appreciate the Court recognizing the practical reality of the situation. Voting has begun. You don’t change the rules in the middle of the election.”

Jennifer Rubin, president of the North Carolina League of Women Voters applauded the APWU for the advertisement and efforts to ensure the mail-in process’ legitimacy. 

“[The ad] does position mail-in voting as a very legitimate form of voting that should be supported and should be available to everybody who needs it or would prefer to, for a variety of reasons, vote by mail,” she said. “And the fact that it is a secure and safe system is an important message for voters to hear.”

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