US Postal Service rule tightens mail-in voting despite court orders blocking changes

Key Points:

• The US Postal Service (USPS) is set to publish a final rule requiring states to provide federal authorities with voter information before the November midterm elections, despite existing court injunctions blocking these changes.
• The rule, aligned with a March executive order by former President Trump, would mandate states to share voter lists with the Department of Homeland Security and adopt new balloting procedures, with USPS potentially refusing to deliver ballots if states do not comply.
• The federal government has sued 30 states and Washington DC for refusing to provide eligible voter lists, and the USPS plans to implement the rule immediately if the court injunctions are lifted.
• Nearly one-third of Americans voted by mail in 2024, but the Trump administration’s order aims to restrict mail-in voting by limiting ballot deliveries to voters on a federal eligibility list, despite Trump himself having voted by mail multiple times.
• The USPS received over 200,000 public comments on the proposed rule, which also involves creating a Federal Ballot Mail Portal to verify voter data before mail-in ballots are sent.