Proposed USPS Rule on Mail-in Voting

Background and What the Rule Proposes

On May 29, 2026, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) proposed a new rule that would  fundamentally change the Postal Service’s role in elections, shifting it from a neutral carrier of election mail to a new federal gatekeeper in the mail-in voting process. The proposal follows President Trump’s March 2026 executive order directing USPS to develop new procedures related to mail voting and is part of the Trump administration’s broader election takeover playbook. 

Under the proposal, states would submit voter and ballot information to a new USPS system, and USPS would use that information to verify and track ballot mailings. Ballots and ballot envelopes would have to match information provided to USPS before being processed through the agency’s new mail-ballot system.

Key aspects of the rule include:

• States would have to send USPS voter lists before mailing ballots: Election officials would submit information identifying which voters are eligible to receive mail-in ballots in federal elections.

• Election offices would have to use a new USPS portal: States would be required to register with USPS and submit voter and ballot-related information through a new federal system before mailing ballots.
• USPS would set new technical standards for ballot envelope design: Ballot envelopes would need to meet new USPS standards for ballot tracking. For example, outgoing and return ballot envelopes would need unique tracking codes that allow USPS to monitor ballot movement.
• USPS would build a new national ballot tracking system: The Postal Service would collect state-submitted voter list data and use it to create a federal system for tracking mail-in ballots.
• USPS would verify ballot mailings against state-submitted voter lists: The Postal Service would check that ballot mailings match the voter information provided by states before processing them.
• Primary elections, as well as military and overseas ballots (Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act—or UOCAVA—ballots in short), would be exempted from these requirements.

Why This Matters

The Trump administration is using debunked conspiracy theories about mail-in voting to justify gaining control over mail-in voting and other key aspects of election administration to tilt the playing field.

For decades, USPS has served as a neutral carrier of election mail. This proposal would move USPS beyond delivering ballots and into a new gatekeeper role that could affect who receives mail ballots and how those ballots are allowed to move through the voting process. The proposed rule would create a new federal layer in the mail-in voting process and shift key responsibilities away from state and local election officials toward a centralized process administered by USPS.

Mail-in voting is one of the most widely used ways Americans cast their ballots, particularly among military and overseas voters, seniors, voters with disabilities, and many rural voters. In 2024, nearly one-third of voters cast their ballots by mail — including about one in four Republican voters. Mail-in voting has been widely utilized safely and securely for decades in both red and blue states, including battleground states, with multiple safeguards such as ballot tracking, signature verification, and strict chain-of-custody procedures. There is no evidence of widespread mail-in voting fraud.

Five Concerns with the Proposed Rule

Conclusion

The proposed USPS rule would fundamentally change the Postal Service’s role in elections, moving it from a neutral carrier of election mail to a new gatekeeper with a centralized role in the mail-in voting process.

In doing so, it would centralize authority over mail-in voting that belongs to state and local election officials; create risks for tens of millions of voters who rely on mail-in ballots; impose new, unfunded burdens on election administrators just months before elections; raises privacy and security questions; and could undermine public confidence in elections. In the process, it would ignore decades of real-world evidence of states successfully and securely administering  mail-in voting.

The rule fits into the administration’s broader election takeover playbook, in which executive branch efforts to change election rules are preceded and justified by claims that the existing systems cannot be trusted. In this case, years of attacks on mail-in voting have laid the groundwork for a proposal that would centralize more authority in a federal entity and change how Americans vote.

This rule would represent a significant shift in the way mail-in voting is administered. That is why the proposal deserves close scrutiny from election officials, policymakers, and voters alike.