The U.S. Postal Service officially proposed plans to carry out President Trump’s executive order asking it to help police voting in elections, saying it will refuse to deliver ballots from states that don’t comply with the new standards.
States will be asked to supply a list of eligible voters who are expected to receive a mail-in or absentee ballot.
Ballots must be sent in a clearly marked package, allowing the postal service to attempt to match the recipients to the lists.
“Any state that intends to receive mail-in or absentee ballots from individual voters through the postal service must ensure that such individuals have been enrolled with the postal service for inclusion on the state’s Mail-In and Absentee Participation List,” the service said in a notice to be published in the federal register.
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Ballots will be sent with unique barcodes to allow the postal service to keep tabs on the mail.
The service said that states would still retain control over who they deem eligible to vote by mail, because they control the lists they would provide to the postal service.
The proposal will now go through a notice and comment period.
Mr. Trump issued an executive order in March telling the post office to come up with the rules. He also ordered Homeland Security to provide states with lists of citizens older than 18 years of age, encompassing people who would be entitled to vote in a federal election.
Homeland Security has yet to reveal its plans but the postal service now has.
It came a day after a federal judge declined to block DHS and the postal service from advancing those plans. Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee to the court in the District of Columbia, said the government’s plans weren’t advanced far enough to reach the merits of the case.
The federal court in Massachusetts is also pondering a challenge to the executive order.
Democrats blasted the Postal Service’s proposal.
“It is completely unacceptable for the postal service to take orders from President Trump to severely limit vote by mail,” said Sen. Alex Padilla, California Democrat.
He said voters could be prevented from voting if their states don’t comply with Mr. Trump’s plans.
