Democrats Urge USPS to Defy Trump Order on Mail-in Voting

Lead 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’s Board of Governors, shared exclusively with The New Republic, Ranking Members Robert Garcia and Joe Morelle argued the agency should refuse to implement an executive order instructing the USPS to refuse to deliver ballots of anyone who is not on a federal voting list. The lawmakers argue in the letter that Trump has no authority over the USPS, which is an independent agency only accountable to its own board of governors. The USPS is specifically barred from making “any undue or unreasonable discrimination among users of the mails,” the letter noted, and Trump’s executive order would have the agency illegally perform election administration duties.Trump’s order, signed in late March, directed that states could notify USPS whether they plan to allow mail-in or absentee ballots up to 90 days before a federal election, and “should” notify the agency whether they intend to supply a list of eligible voters within 60 days of the election. The order also directed USPS to produce a set of mail-in and absentee participation lists for each state, and refuse to deliver ballots for anyone who is not on them. However, there is no law that requires states to provide this information to the USPS, or authorizes USPS to require states to provide that 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 until and up to 60 days before an election, with some states setting vote by mail application deadlines much later than 60 days,” the letter said.“In addition, it is not clear how the Postal Service would reconcile differences or verify the accuracy of state-supplied voter lists alongside a DHS State Citizenship List. This EO will quickly create a two-tiered voting system where some Americans’ right to vote would be denied,” the letter said.The Democratic lawmakers requested to know whether the board of governors planned to implement Trump’s order, and which specific provisions it would attempt to satisfy. They also requested a staff-level briefing be held to explain how the agency plans to respond, and address the concerns outlined in the letter. Officials from at least two dozen states have already sued the Trump administration to oppose this executive order, which threatens states’ constitutional right to oversee their own elections. The letter points to Trump’s threats to “nationalize” or “take over” federal elections, as well as his baseless claims of voter fraud. Republicans are also still attempting to pass the SAVE America Act, which would prohibit universal mail-in voting, although Senate Majority Leader John Thune has indicated the measure is not his top priority. Under that legislation, voters would have to submit an application to receive a mail-in ballot.