A coalition of nearly 40 Democratic U.S. Senators advised the United States Postal Service (USPS) against implementing an executive order from President Donald Trump that seeks to reform mail-in voting.
“The Constitution provides no role for the President in regulating federal elections,” the letter states. “And no statute delegates to the President any authority to regulate elections or voter eligibility either, including via USPS.”
The executive order directs the USPS to create and maintain a Postal Service Mail-In and Absentee Participation List and prohibit the delivery of absentee ballots from any individual not included on that USPS-maintained list.
The order further directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to compile federal citizenship records into state-by-state voter eligibility lists, drawn from Social Security Administration and immigration databases, and transmit those lists to state election officials at least 60 days before each federal election.
The order would also prohibit mail-in voting in any state unwilling to submit its absentee voter lists to the USPS, and would give the postal agency power to determine which voters’ ballots get delivered to election officials at all, according to the senator's letter.
“The order prohibits the delivery of absentee ballots from individuals that are not on the USPS absentee voter list,” the senators said. “These directives clearly infringe on the states’ and Congress’ constitutional role to regulate the manner in which federal elections are held and would deny eligible voters their ability to cast a ballot.”
The U.S. Postal Service did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.
The coalition is led by Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). They warned that Trump’s directives would grant the Postal Service final say on whether a voter’s ballot is transmitted to election officials or not.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication
The senators allege that like the president, the Postal Service does not have the authority to regulate voting in federal elections.
“[The postal service] does not advocate for particular forms of voting and simply serves to collect and transport the mail to its destination, including election mail,” the senators added. “This neutral and apolitical role to transmit the mail is critical to ensuring trust in the electorate and facilitating American elections, while respecting the constitutional role of the states.”