The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) would not mail election ballots from states that decline to provide the federal government with their absentee voter lists, Postmaster General David Steiner indicated during a Senate hearing.
Steiner stated to Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, that the proposed rule is intended to ensure that the ballots mailed match those a state intends to send out. "All that does, senator, is make sure that we match the ballots that a state believes they're sending out to what actually gets sent out," Steiner said during the hearing on Wednesday, June 24, 2026.
The proposed regulation for federal election balloting would establish a process requiring states to notify the Postal Service of individuals receiving absentee or mail-in ballots. This notification would include a unique barcode for each outbound and return ballot envelope, enabling the creation of a Mail-In and Absentee Participation List that includes the voter's name and barcode. States would have until the last day ballots can be mailed to add to or modify this list. The Postal Service would then provide each state's chief election official with a final list.
Senator Peters expressed concern about the proposal, calling it an "incredibly dangerous precedent" for the federal government to obtain this information. He emphasized the need to protect the integrity of voting rolls and ensure that state and local governments administer their own elections, maintaining a separation between elections and the federal government.