On June 2, the Postal Service published a proposed rule related to the agency’s handling of federal mail-in ballots. The proposed rule comes after an executive order related to mail-in ballots was released on March 31.

The proposed rule would require states to submit lists of mail-in voters and ballot barcodes to the Postal Service. Under the rule, USPS would be required to use these lists to verify who is to receive federal mail-in ballots and, under certain circumstances, refuse to deliver them.

The deadline to submit comments on the proposed rule is July 2. NALC filed comments strongly opposing the proposed rule.

NALC opposes the proposed rule for several reasons. First, it exceeds USPS’s legal authority and risks dragging USPS and its employees, who are nonpartisan public servants, into the highly charged political climate of elections. Additionally, USPS lacks the legal authority to establish a voter registry, verify ballot mail or refuse ballot mail, as proposed in the rule. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the proposed rule would improve the already secure vote-by-mail process. The proposed rule could potentially deny certain eligible voters the right to vote by mail while causing unnecessary financial burdens on both states and the Postal Service.