Postal Service proposes requiring states to provide mail-in ballot voter lists

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: CNBC

Postal Service proposes requiring states to provide mail-in ballot voter lists

PUBLISHED FRI, MAY 29 20261:16 PM EDT
Luke Fountain
@LUKE_FOUNTAIN25

KEY POINTS
* The U.S. Postal Service proposed new mail-in ballot rules that would require states to submit voter names, addresses and unique ballot barcodes for federal elections.
* The proposal would set mandatory "best practices" for federal elections including Election Mail logos, tracking barcodes and design reviews.
* The rule follows President Donald Trump's March elections-related executive order and comes one day after a federal judge declined to immediately block the order's mail-voting provision.


A mail-in ballot featuring California's Proposition 50 is seen in this illustration taken in Encinitas, California, U.S., October 21, 2025.
Mike Blake Reuters

The U.S. Postal Service proposed new rules Friday that would require states to provide voter-level data on mail-in ballots in federal elections, one day after a federal judge declined to immediately block President Donald Trump's executive order tightening mail-in voting rules.

The proposal would require states to submit to the Postal Service the names and addresses of voters receiving mail-in or absentee ballots, along with unique barcodes tied to each voter's outbound and return ballot envelopes.

USPS said the rule would help determine how many ballots were mailed and allow officials to compare that figure with the number of ballots returned to detect potential issues for further investigation.

The rule would apply to general, special and runoff federal elections, but not primaries or ballots sent to military and overseas voters.

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Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/29/postal-service-mail-in-ballot-voter-lists-trump.html

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Here's a link to the proposed rule.

https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/search?conditions%5Bspecial_filing%5D1&conditions%5Btype%5D%5B%5DPRORULE

https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2026-10968/ballot-mail-for-federal-elections

Ballot Mail for Federal Elections
by the Postal Service scheduled for publication on 06/02/2026.
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https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-10968.pdf

This document is unpublished. It is scheduled to be published on 06/02/2026.

Once it is published it will be available on this page in an official form. Until then, you can download the unpublished PDF version.

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