New Mail Voting Rules Moved Forward Despite USPS Officials’ Concerns — ProPublica
ProPublica — 2026-09-02 06:00:00 — www.propublica.org
President Donald Trump, through a March executive order, directed the U.S. Postal Service to implement sweeping new rules for mail voting, including requiring states to provide USPS with lists of all voters eligible to receive mail ballots and mandating that USPS use those lists to determine ballot distribution. The Trump administration has presented these changes as efforts to ensure “safe, transparent, and honest elections,” according to a White House spokesperson.
However, internal documents and whistleblower disclosures obtained by ProPublica reveal deep concerns among top Postal Service officials about the potential for these rules to delay or block ballots for large numbers of eligible voters in the upcoming midterms. Despite warnings from within the agency that the new system was “untested and error-prone” and could result in “mass disenfranchisement,” the rules moved forward.
The whistleblower described the process as “secretive, rushed, chaotic, and fundamentally flawed,” highlighting that, under the current design, if even one barcode in a bulk mailing of thousands of ballots fails to scan, the entire batch could be rejected and sent back to the state, preventing ballots from reaching voters. Election officials and printing experts echoed these concerns, noting that technical errors and lack of clear guidance from USPS could throw the entire system into chaos.
While the Postal Service has defended the rule in court, stating it does not intend to seize control of election administration and that “the rule need not and should not prevent a single voter from voting by mail,” critics—including voting rights organizations and Democratic officials—warn that the system is not ready and could disenfranchise voters, especially those overseas or in the military who must receive ballots soon.
The Trump administration’s push for these changes, despite internal and external warnings, has led to lawsuits and a temporary federal court block on the requirements. The issue is expected to reach the Supreme Court before the November election. As the situation unfolds, the controversy underscores the risks of implementing major election system changes on a rushed timeline, with the potential to undermine voter access and confidence in the electoral process.
Source: https://www.propublica.org/article/mail-voting-usps-officials-concerns-disenfranchisement