The Democratic governor of Colorado and the state leader of a postal labor union enthusiastically backing Hillary Clinton blasted Donald Trump for recent remarks calling into question the integrity of the Centennial State’s election system, which is conducted completely by mail-in ballot.
“What do they have — X-ray eyes?” Gov. John Hickenlooper quipped Monday to room full of Hillary Clinton campaign workers and volunteers in Lakewood, The Denver Post reported.
Mr. Hickenlooper was reacting to Mr. Trump’s comments at two weekend rallies in Colorado suggesting that either election clerks or postal employees may be throwing away mailed-in ballots they suspect are coming from Trump supporters. He called the charge “beyond the pale.”
“It’s so important that people don’t get concerned that their ballots aren’t safe,” Colorado State Association of Letter Carriers president Doug Jaynes said at the same gathering, The Post reported.
“Like people say, ’Oh here’s a ballot. Here’s another ballot, throw it away. Oh, here’s one I like. We’ll keep that one,’” Mr. Trump said Saturday, according to The Post.
Mr. Trump didn’t specify who he meant by “people,” nor did his his campaign spokeswoman in Colorado despite numerous requests for clarification, The Post reported.
Traditionally Democratic states Oregon and Washington also conduct their elections almost exclusively via the U.S. Mail, but Colorado is the only one of the three considered a battleground state. Mrs. Clinton enjoys a 5-point lead in the Real Clear Politics polling average for the state.
For its part, the National Association of Letter Carriers — to which Mr. Jaynes belong and which describes itself as the “sole representative of city delivery letter carriers employed by the U.S. Postal Service” — skews reliably Democratic in its presidential endorsements.
“This endorsement was not a difficult one to make, given the two choices before us,” NALC president Frederic Rolando said in his June 9 endorsement announcement.
“Leaving aside his anti-worker record as an employer, his dishonesty and erratic temperament, and the bigotry and sexism he has demonstrated as a candidate, Donald Trump showed blatant disrespect to America’s letter carriers,” Mr. Rolando said. “In our endorsement process, he not only failed to answer our candidate questionnaire, he would not even acknowledge receiving it. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, has demonstrated her commitment to letter carriers and has dedicated her entire life to public service. Few candidates have ever been better prepared for the Oval Office.
“There is a lot at stake on Tuesday, Nov. 8 — for our country, our jobs and our families,” concluded the NALC union president. “Starting in the key battle ground states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin and Nevada, NALC and America’s letter carriers are ready to unite behind Hillary Clinton to make this great country even greater.”
For its part, the American Postal Workers Union, which says its “represents more than 200,000 USPS employees and retirees, and nearly 2,000 private-sector mail workers,” has also endorsed Mrs. Clinton, first via its executive board in August and then by a vote of the national membership at its September convention.
• Ken Shepherd can be reached at kshepherd@washingtontimes.com.
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