US Postal Service Implements New Mail Ballot Rules Amid Legal Challenges
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The USPS announced that new requirements for handling mail-in ballots, derived from a Trump administration executive order, are now in effect for the upcoming midterm elections, prompting fresh lawsuits from states and the District of Columbia.
The United States Postal Service said Thursday that new requirements for processing mail-in ballots are now being applied to the November midterm elections. The rules stem from an executive order issued earlier this year that directs the agency to withhold ballots from voters whose registration information does not match data from the Department of Homeland Security and other federal sources.
The Postal Service posted a final rule on ballot delivery on Friday and indicated it would take effect immediately. The Supreme Court on Monday lifted a lower-court injunction pending the agency’s implementation of the rule, though the decision did not address the rule’s legality.
Following the court’s procedural ruling, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani removed her nationwide block on the policy. On Wednesday, two dozen states and the District of Columbia filed a new lawsuit seeking to stop the executive order, arguing that the USPS policy is part of an effort to alter federal election law and encroach on powers reserved to states and Congress.
"The USPS policy is part of a broader effort by the administration to rewrite federal election law and usurp the authority of the states and Congress," the plaintiffs said in their filing.