USPS issues rule requiring states to submit mail-in ballot voter lists, but injunction blocks enforcement
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The United States Postal Service published a rule that would obligate states to provide lists of voters receiving mail-in ballots, aligning with a presidential executive order, but a federal injunction currently prevents the rule from taking effect.
The United States Postal Service released a final rule that would require each state using the service to send mail-in ballots to submit a list of eligible voters, including names, addresses and a unique Intelligent Mail barcode, at least 60 days before an election. The rule is intended to align the agency with a March 31 executive order that also mandates a 90-day notification to the USPS.
The rule cannot be implemented because a federal judge has kept in place a preliminary injunction against the executive order. Judge Indira Talwani issued the injunction in June, finding two sections of the order unconstitutional, and renewed it in July in the case brought by the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts.
The Department of Justice argued that the court’s review was premature, stating that the plaintiffs have not shown a concrete injury from the policy while it remains unimplemented.
"Plaintiffs cannot demonstrate they suffer any particularized injury from ongoing policymaking deliberations within the Executive Branch," the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division wrote.
USPS Postmaster General David Steiner said the agency’s goal is to ensure that ballots a state intends to send match the ballots actually mailed. White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said the administration will continue to pursue its election-security agenda.
The rule would only take effect for the upcoming midterm elections if the injunction were lifted.