Postal Service Seeks to Take Control Over Mail-in Ballots

Earlier this week, a federal judge refused to block an executive order from Donald Trump that would give the administration unprecedented power over US elections. In his decision, he argued that the federal government had not yet taken steps to implement that order.

As it turns out, the judge, who was appointed by Trump, should just have waited a bit longer.

Because on Friday, the administration laid the groundwork for interfering in the upcoming midterms in a major way when the United States Postal Service (USPS) introduced a proposed rule that would require the states to submit lists of residents, complete with their names and barcodes, who want to vote by mail.

The proposal cites the executive order and should therefore allow the plaintiffs to immediately refile their lawsuit seeking to block Trump’s move to interfere in the way states administer elections. It is the latest offensive in the president’s crusade against mail-in voting, which he blames for his 2020 election loss.

Contrary to Trump’s claims, there is no evidence that voting by mail is unsafe. Instead, it provides more Americans with an opportunity to participate in democracy.

However, that is not really something Republicans want. They would rather pick and choose who gets to vote, where, and how.

The executive order is a big part of those efforts, as is the SAVE America Act — which is the president’s top legislative priority— and, of course, so is Trump’s unprecedented mid-decade redistricting campaign that threatens to disenfranchise millions of Black voters across the South.

This isn’t lost on Democrats.

“President Trump wants to make it harder for Americans to vote because his illegal tariffs, war, and healthcare cuts are crushing working families,” said Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO). “Mail-in voting is safe, secure, and accessible. We proved that in Colorado when we expanded it statewide during my time as governor. We’ll fight this illegal act of cowardice with everything we’ve got.”

Speaking of fighting this blatant power grab: When the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, the public will have 30 days to comment on any aspect of the regulation before a final rule can be crafted.

This means that USPS is operating on a very tight timeline here. At the earliest, this rule could go into effect less than four months before the midterms — and only if the administration does a shoddy job of responding to comments.

And, since some states send out their ballots many weeks ahead of Election Day, the regulation will likely create a lot of chaos.

This is one of the many reasons why the courts should stop this power grab. However, as we saw when the Supreme Court gutted what was left of the Voting Rights Act last month, the highest level of the judiciary now works as an arm of the MAGA movement and cannot be relied upon to rule fairly.

Therefore, it may be up to Americans to do something about this regulation, for example, by inundating USPS with comments beginning on Tuesday and all through June.