A new rule proposed by the U.S. Postal Service would allow it to track and verify mail-in ballots moving through its system by creating a process in which each state uploads its voter data to a federal portal.
The requirement would only apply to states choosing to use the U.S. Mail for absentee or mail-in voting in federal elections.
Using a Federal Ballot Mail Portal, the agency would oversee the mandatory tracking system with unique and serialized Intelligent Mail barcodes (IMb) that would be printed on the outbound envelope sent to the voter and the return envelope that’s sent back to the election office.
The Postal Service would act as a data aggregator, delivering to the state’s chief election official a final State-Specific Mail-In and Absentee Participation List that pairs the voter's identity with the unique barcode associated with their mail-in or absentee ballot that moved through the mail processing equipment.
Mailings that do not comply with the standards in the proposed rule would be rejected and returned to election officials and the protocols would not apply to primary elections or overseas military ballots.
The Postal Service said it proposed amending the Domestic Mail Manual to implement Presidential Executive Order 14399.
The Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections order was issued by President Donald Trump on March 31 and aims to prevent the risk of purported fraud in federal elections.
The postal services agency is accepting public comments on the proposed rule by mail or email while noting that comments by fax machine will not be accepted.
For written comments through the mail, address the letter to the director of product classification, U.S. Postal Service, 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 4446, Washington, DC 20260-5015.
For emailed comments, send to [email protected] with ‘Ballot Mail’ written in the subject line.