Democrats Urge USPS to Defy Trump Order on Mail-in Voting
Top Democrats on the House Oversight and Administration committees are urging the U.S. Postal Service to refuse President Donald Trump’s executive order to illegally limit mail-in voting.
In a letter Friday to the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors, shared exclusively with The New RepublicRanking Members Robert Garcia and Joe Morelle argued that the agency should refuse to implement an executive order directing the USPS to refuse to deliver the ballots of anyone not on a federal voter roll.
The lawmakers claim in the letter that Trump has no authority over the USPS, which is an independent agency accountable only to its own board of governors.
The USPS is specifically rod to make “any undue or unreasonable discrimination among mail users,” the letter notes, and Trump’s executive order would force the agency to illegally perform election administration tasks.
Trump’s order, signed in late March, directed that states can notify the USPS if they plan to allow absentee or absentee voting up to 90 days before a federal election, and “should” notify the agency if they intend to provide a list of eligible voters within 60 days of the election.
The order also directs the USPS to produce a set of mail-in and mail-in voter turnout lists for each state, and to refuse to deliver ballots to anyone not listed on them. However, no law requires states to provide this information to the USPS, nor does any law authorize the USPS to require states to provide this data.
The timeline presented by the EO could potentially leave millions of Americans disenfranchised. “All 50 states and the District of Columbia allow voters to register to vote and apply to vote by mail up to 60 days before an election, with some states setting application deadlines for absentee ballots well beyond 60 days,” the letter said.
“Furthermore, it is unclear how the Postal Service could reconcile differences or verify the accuracy of state-provided voter rolls alongside a DHS state citizenship list. This EO will quickly create a two-tiered voting system in which some Americans’ rights to vote would be denied,” the letter said.
Democratic lawmakers asked whether the board of governors planned to implement Trump’s order and what specific provisions it would try to follow. They also requested that a briefing be held at the staff level to explain how the agency plans to respond and address the concerns expressed in the letter.
Officials from at least two dozen states have already continued the Trump administration to oppose this executive order, which threatens the constitutional right of states to oversee their own elections. The letter highlights Trump’s threats to “nationalize” or “take over” federal elections, as well as his baseless claims of voter fraud.
Republicans are also still trying to pass the SAVE America Act, which to forbid universal mail-in voting, although Senate Majority Leader John Thune noted this measure is not its top priority. Under this legislation, voters would have to submit a request to receive an absentee ballot.
