USPS Pushes Forward with Voter Data Rule, Threatening Democracy Despite Court Orders
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The United States Postal Service is moving to enforce a controversial rule demanding states hand over sensitive voter information to federal agencies before the 2024 midterms, ignoring injunctions from two federal courts.
In a troubling escalation, the United States Postal Service announced it will proceed with a final rule forcing states to provide the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies with comprehensive voter lists and related data ahead of the November midterm elections. This move comes despite clear injunctions from federal courts in California and Massachusetts, which currently block the rule’s implementation.
The proposed regulation, which is set for publication in the Federal Register next week, would allow the USPS to withhold mail-in ballots from states that refuse to comply, effectively disenfranchising millions of voters. The federal government has already taken aggressive legal action against 30 states and the District of Columbia for defending their residents’ privacy and refusing to surrender eligible-voter lists.
According to the agency, if the court injunctions are lifted, the rule will be enforced immediately, pressuring election officials to rapidly adapt to new standards for federal ballot-mail envelopes and to submit sensitive data to a new Federal Ballot Mail Portal. This portal, a product of federal overreach, would become operational once its system of records is published.
The rule is rooted in a March executive order that prohibits the USPS from delivering ballots to voters not included on a federal list of eligible citizens, a move that threatens to suppress the vote and undermine democratic participation. The USPS claims it received over 200,000 public comments on the proposal, reflecting widespread concern and opposition from communities worried about privacy and voter suppression.