The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) may refuse to deliver mail-in ballots to states that do not provide voter lists to the Trump administration, Postmaster General David Steiner announced Wednesday. The proposed policy, which is currently under review, would require states to submit a manifest of approved voters, including names, addresses, and ballot barcode numbers, to the USPS.
Steiner stated during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing that the rule is intended to ensure ballots are delivered "securely, efficiently, and accurately." He argued that the process is routine and designed to help states confirm that ballots reach the correct recipients. "It really is trying to help the state make sure that the ballots that they send to the voters actually get there and get to those voters, and so it's strictly a manifest for us to make sure that the right ballots are going to the right people," Steiner said.
However, Democratic senators criticized the proposal, calling it an unconstitutional attempt to exert federal control over elections. "Another backdoor way of trying to influence this election," said Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich. When pressed by Peters on whether the USPS would still deliver ballots if a state refused to provide the requested information, Steiner acknowledged that under the proposed rule, they would not.
"If you don't get Michigan's voter rolls for the general election in November, will you move those ballots in your mailboxes?" asked Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. Steiner responded that the USPS would operate according to whatever rule is in effect at the time of the election, noting that the current proposal is not yet final. "Remember, right now we only have a proposed rule, so there are no new rules," he said.
The proposed rule aligns with an executive order signed by President Trump in March aimed at increasing federal oversight of elections. Several lawsuits have challenged this executive order, though some cases have been delayed due to the policy not yet being implemented. The public comment period for the USPS proposal is open for another week.