Trump Pushes USPS Mail Ballot Verification Plan - Dems Immediately Threaten Lawsuits

The Trump administration is done playing defense on election integrity. On Friday, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) proposed sweeping new rules that would require states to submit voter names, addresses, and unique ballot barcodes for federal elections, giving the federal government real teeth to verify that mail ballots are going to, and coming back from, actual eligible voters.

Trump signed the underlying executive order himself.

"There's been massive cheating that's gone on."

Will Scharf, senior associate counsel to the president, laid out the problem the order is designed to fix. Bloated voter rolls and a mail voting system that, by design, offers almost no verification.

"We're going to take federal data, we're going to ensure that each state's election officials are provided with a comprehensive view of who the eligible voters in their jurisdiction actually are, allowing them to properly verify that everybody voting in their elections is legally able to vote."

He continued.

"...it orders the Postmaster General and the US Postal Service to take bold new measures to verify that ballots both being sent to people are being sent to people who are eligible to vote, and then that ballots being returned are being properly returned by eligible voters only."

The proposed rule follows that blueprint and finally adds accountability to a process that has operated largely on the honor system. States would be required to submit voter lists tied to unique barcodes on every outbound and return ballot envelope. USPS would compare ballots sent against ballots returned and flag discrepancies for further investigation, the kind of basic chain-of-custody tracking that exists for virtually every other sensitive document in America.

The rule would also require standardized Election Mail logos, envelope design reviews, and state-specific participation lists managed through a new Federal Ballot Mail Portal. Ballots that do not meet the new standards, or are not tied to a state-submitted voter list, could be rejected before they ever reach election offices. 

Previously, local election offices determined voter eligibility, maintained mail-voter lists, designed ballot packets, and handed them off to USPS for delivery with essentially no federal oversight. Under the proposal, USPS would receive voter-list data from states, track ballots end-to-end, and determine whether mailings meet the new federal standards. The Postal Service goes from passive vendor to active gatekeeper, and that's exactly the point.

---

Read More: Crackdown: Trump Signs New EO Targeting Mail-In Fraud Ahead of Midterms

Leavitt: The SAVE America Act Does Not Prohibit Anyone From Voting Except Illegal Aliens

---

The administration isn't waiting on Congress to act. It directs USPS to build the system through the federal rulemaking process, with a 30-day public comment period before the rule can be finalized. 

The general election is five months away, and some states begin mailing ballots roughly 60 days before Election Day. Cato Institute analyst Stephen Richer has questioned whether USPS can build the required infrastructure in time, a fair logistical concern, though one the administration appears ready to take head-on.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, declined Thursday to block the executive order, ruling the legal challenge premature because the policies had not yet been implemented.

Predictably, Democrats and left-wing activist groups are already lining up to fight it in court. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer reached for his usual script:

"Mail-in voting is safe and secure — period. This new rule is just another malicious attempt by the Trump administration to suppress the votes of millions and try to throw the election results."

Notice what Schumer didn't do: explain how verifying that ballots go to and come from eligible voters constitutes "suppression." The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and allied plaintiffs were equally short on specifics:

"We are confident we will prevail in the end when this illegal and completely unworkable executive order is fully adjudicated."

The White House responded:

"The entire Trump Administration will continue lawfully enacting the agenda President Trump was elected to enact — which includes the safety and security of American elections."

The USPS rule and the SAVE America Act, which would require photo ID and proof of citizenship for federal voter registration, move on separate tracks. The administration is pushing both simultaneously, and the USPS proposal advances through the rulemaking process regardless of what Congress does.

Democrats will sue. Activist groups will fundraise off it. The media will call it voter suppression. The administration is moving ahead anyway, and for the roughly 80 percent of Americans who consistently tell pollsters they support basic election security measures, that's the right call.