The USPS has drafted a new rule regarding voting by mail in the United States
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has finalized a rule setting new requirements for states regarding the delivery of mail-in ballots ahead of the November midterm congressional elections. However, the changes cannot take effect at this time due to two court injunctions issued by federal courts in California and Massachusetts, according to The Guardian.
The rule was developed to implement a March executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump. It requires states to provide the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies with access to voter rolls, as well as to implement new voting procedures. If these requirements are not met, the USPS will refuse to deliver ballots.
In the document, published online on Friday, the USPS stated that it is prepared to implement the restrictions if the court injunctions are lifted. In that case, election officials would have to prepare envelopes for federal ballots and submit the data through the Federal Ballot Mail Portal before ballot mailing begins. According to the USPS, in most states this typically occurs in September or later.
For more breaking news, follow the UA.News Telegram channel.
The federal government has filed lawsuits against 30 states and the District of Columbia over their refusal to provide lists of eligible voters. The rules proposed by the USPS also require that the postal service be provided with names and barcodes associated with ballots for federal elections. During the public comment period for the draft, the USPS received over 200,000 responses.
Nearly one in three voters in the U.S. voted by mail in 2024, the publication reports. Donald Trump himself voted by mail this year in the Republican primary in Florida; this is at least the third time he has used this method of voting.
