USPS publishes rule to block mail-in ballots from states that don’t provide voter lists

The US Postal Service has published a finalised rule requiring states to supply lists of voters receiving mail-in ballots before those ballots can be handled, aligning the agency with President Donald Trump's 31 March executive order on election security. The move matters because it would give the federal government greater oversight of mail-in voting ahead of the midterm elections, though it remains legally blocked and cannot currently take effect.

Under the rule, states using USPS for mail-in ballots must notify the agency at least 90 days before an election and submit voter names and addresses, with a unique barcode required on both outgoing and returned ballots, at least 60 days beforehand. The rule, first proposed on 2 June and due for official publication on 26 August, is currently frozen by a federal injunction issued by Judge Indira Talwani in the case League of Women Voters of Massachusetts v. Trump, who ruled the relevant section of Trump's executive order unconstitutional; the Trump administration has argued the challenge is premature since no harm has yet occurred. USPS Postmaster General David Steiner has defended the policy as a way to verify ballot numbers, while the White House says it will continue pursuing the measure.