Electoral systems

USPS Rule Could Block Mail Ballots Without State Data

Is this a necessary safeguard for election integrity or an unconstitutional federal overreach?

Published 7 days ago

USPS Rule Could Block Mail Ballots Without State Data

Story

Above: Mail-in ballots following a primary election at City Hall in San Francisco, California, on June 9. Image credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Spin

Republican narrative

Voter rolls are the bare minimum needed to confirm only eligible citizens receive mail ballots, and states refusing to hand them over are shielding a broken system from accountability. Trump's executive order adds barcode tracking and federal verification — basic safeguards any secure election should already have, especially after what was witnessed in 2020. Blocking mail-in cheating isn't voter suppression, it's the foundation of election integrity.

Eric Daugherty on X

Dinesh D'Souza on Substack

Democratic narrative

The Constitution is unambiguous — states run elections, and no executive order changes that. If courts let the USPS rule stand, it would hand the federal government veto power over who gets a ballot, relying on DHS databases already flagged for serious errors that would leave eligible voters without a way to cast their vote. The American Postal Workers Union itself has called this unconstitutional, and that's not a fringe take — it's the law.

Common Dreams American Postal Workers Union