State Senator Chris Telfer of Bend has joined a bi-partisan group of State Senators asking Congress to re-consider a move to close many rural post offices. Telfer says for one: Oregon votes by mail, so closing the post offices could have a big impact on elections. She says many people in rural communities prefer the use the local post office because its a local meeting place, and they may not be able to use online services for mail. “Well there is a culture there too, but in a lot of places in rural Oregon, we don't have high speed Internet, and we don't have the ability to pay bills online. And so they are not able to pay bills online. I think someone in Washington D.C. looked at a map and said these cities seem pretty close together; like Sunriver for example. It’s a 20 minute drive and in the winter its not a good drive and there are a lot of seniors who get their medications in the mail.” Telfer also believes there are better ways for the post office to but its budget. In the Sunriver case, the post office is profitable.