Postal Service pushes mail-voting limits despite court blocks

WASHINGTON (MNTV) — The U.S. Postal Service has released a 95-page proposal to restrict mail-in voting despite court orders blocking the Trump administration from enforcing such measures, renewing concern over federal intervention in how states run elections.

The proposed rules would let the Postal Service withhold mail ballots from states that do not comply with federal demands for voter information, require states to identify voters who requested mail ballots, and mandate redesigned ballot envelopes with trackable barcodes. 

USPS says the changes are needed to enforce federal law and improve election-mail handling; experts say they would give the federal government unprecedented influence over procedures the states traditionally control. 

The rules follow a March executive order from President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly alleged widespread mail-voting fraud despite extensive evidence that U.S. election fraud is very rare.

The effort has already met resistance: officials from 23 states and Washington, DC, challenged the rules, and voting-rights groups filed a separate suit. 

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani blocked the restrictions in June and issued another injunction on Aug. 11, warning that enforcement could sow confusion and erode confidence ahead of the midterms. 

USPS published the proposal anyway, so it could take effect quickly if the injunctions are overturned.

With control of Congress at stake in November, the fight has grown beyond postal policy into a broader struggle over who controls U.S. elections and how much authority the federal government holds over voting procedures long run by the states.