By David Shepardson and Susan Heavey
WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) – The U.S. Postal Service would require states to provide lists of voters who received mailed ballots as part of new rules proposed on Friday, one day after a federal judge declined to immediately block President Donald Trump’s related executive order.
The USPS proposal, published in a Federal Register notice, would require states to give the USPS the names and barcodes tied to their mail-in ballots for federal elections, but it would not apply to primary elections. The public has 30 days to comment on the plan before the Trump administration can finalize it.
The Postal Service is proposing to require states also provide unique barcodes applied to the outbound and return ballot mail envelopes, saying it “will help determine adherence to federal law and facilitate law enforcement efforts.”
On Thursday, Washington-based U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols declined to block Trump’s March 31 order on mail-in ballots but did not say whether it was lawful.
A judge in Boston has set a hearing for Tuesday on a separate lawsuit filed by Democratic state attorneys general against Trump, the USPS, and others challenging the voting order.
The order also directed the administration to use federal data to help state election officials verify who is eligible to vote, required the Postal Service to deliver ballots only to voters on each state’s approved mail-in ballot list, and required states to preserve election-related records for five years.
A group of Democratic senators said the order illegally seeks to transform USPS “into an election administration agency with the power to determine who can vote by mail and to establish ballot specifications.”
Trump, a Republican, has for years pushed the false claim that his 2020 election defeat was the result of widespread voter fraud and has called for tighter rules on voting by mail ahead of the November midterm elections.
In March 2025, Trump forced out Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. Current Postmaster General David Steiner has warned the USPS could run out of money by early next year.
(Reporting by David Shepardson and Susan Heavey; additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Rod Nickel)
Comments