USPS publishes rule requiring states to list mail-in ballot voters

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Postal Service published a final rule Friday that would require states using the mail for federal absentee or mail-in ballots to enroll those voters with the agency before ballots move through the postal system, Fox News, Reuters, and The Hill reported.

The rule follows President Donald Trump's March 31 executive order on citizenship verification and election integrity. Under the final text, any state that intends to receive mail-in or absentee ballots through USPS must enroll those individuals on a state Mail-In and Absentee Participation List. States would submit each voter's name and address and put a uniquely serialized Intelligent Mail barcode on both the outbound and return ballot envelopes.

USPS said the rule will be formally published in the Federal Register on Aug. 26. The agency also said it will not implement the rule for the Nov. 3 midterm elections unless courts lift injunctions that now block key pieces of the president's order.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston first enjoined parts of the order in June and renewed that block in July in League of Women Voters of Massachusetts v. Trump. Reporting said the injunction covers the USPS mail-ballot provisions. The Justice Department has argued the challenge is premature until the rule actually takes effect.

Postmaster General David Steiner earlier defended the proposal as a way to match the ballots a state believes it is sending with what actually enters the mailstream. White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said the administration will continue lawfully enacting the agenda voters elected, including election security.

Supporters cast the list and barcode rules as tracking and integrity tools. Critics, including many state officials and Democrats in Congress, say USPS lacks authority to rewrite election practice this close to a federal election. For now the final rule sits ready if a higher court clears it.