Democratic Governors Urge Postal Service to Cancel Trump’s Voting List Proposal

A group of Democratic governors has called on the U.S. Postal Service to abandon its proposed rule that would enact a prior executive order from President Donald Trump. This order aimed to develop a federal list of eligible voters and potentially limit who could receive a mail-in ballot.

President Trump signed this order in March, instructing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Social Security Administration to create a ‘citizenship list’ for each state. Furthermore, the Postal Service was directed to restrict mailed ballots solely to those listed.

The Postal Service put forward a rule in late May to implement Trump’s order. However, a federal judge later blocked the order, deeming it unconstitutional as setting election rules are within the jurisdiction of states and Congress, not the president.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, joined by eight other Democratic governors from California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin, led the effort to urge the Postal Service to retract the proposed rule. Their letter pointed to the judge’s ruling, stating that the rule, instead of ensuring election integrity, would undermine trust, complicate voting processes, and potentially disenfranchise millions of voters.

The proposed rule, they argued, would give ‘unilateral power to refuse to deliver their ballots if a state refuses to collaborate with President Trump’s unlawful directives.’

The Postal Service has not provided a response to requests for comment. The rule was filed in the Federal Register after a judge in a separate lawsuit did not initially block the order due to a lack of implementation steps from the administration at that time.

Democrats and civil rights groups have appealed that ruling. The American Postal Workers union president, Jonathan Smith, has expressed concerns, stating their role is not to verify voter eligibility but simply to deliver mail.

This order marks the second attempt by Trump to oversee election processes, with his first order also being struck down by the courts. The initial order sought proof of citizenship for voter registration, a requirement met with legal resistance.

Both orders focus on curtailing voting by noncitizens, an issue that investigations suggest is rare. Trump’s skepticism of mail-in voting as a fraud source contrasts with studies, such as one by the Brookings Institution, which reported only four cases of fraud per 10 million mail ballots.