06/14/2026
Recently, Trump issued an executive order requiring the U.S. Postal Service to ONLY process and deliver mail-in ballots to voters who are on “federally approved lists.” [Boooo]
Although this is not in line with federal or state voting laws, in response, USPS has proposed changes to mail delivery that will block mailed ballots from states that do not submit voter rolls to the federal government. Of course, the executive order faces MAJOR legal battles. A coalition of states that do vote-by-mail, Democratic-led states, the NAACP, and the ACLU have formed a coalition that is actively challenging the rule change.
USPS is exempt from normal “public comment” periods for agency rule changes, but they’ve published their new rule and are accepting public comments via email. If you choose to submit a comment, simply share your thoughts; don’t worry about understanding technicalities of the rule change or its illegality. Common reasons for supporting mail-in voting might include things like our vast geography, the burden on rural county staff to run in-person elections, the exclusion of working people with limited time to participate in in-person voting, and high confidence in mail-in ballots.
There’s also the glaring issue that this order is about voter suppression and that USPS should not be used as a political weapon by ANYONE. In WA state we’ve been voting by mail for a long time, and we should speak up.
To comment: USPS says to send an email to the following address AND to the use the subject line: BALLOT MAIL
[email protected]
To see what USPS published in the Federal Register: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/06/02/2026-10968/ballot-mail-for-federal-elections
COMMENT DEADLINE: JULY 2, 2026
The Postal Service is proposing to amend the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), regarding the transmission of mail-in or absentee ballots for federal elections pursuant to its rulemaking authority.
