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Postmaster General David Steiner told lawmakers Wednesday that the U.S. Postal Service will no longer deliver mail-in ballots in states that refuse to provide sensitive voter data to the federal government, in line with a proposed rule from the Trump administration.
Steiner defended the measure at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, saying it was to ensure that “the right ballots are going to the right people” after Senate Democrats aired concerns about the proposal.
“If a state refuses to turn their absentee voter list over to the federal government, will the Postal Service still mail their ballots under this proposal rule?” Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the committee’s top Democrat, asked Steiner.
“Under our proposed regulation, no,” Steiner replied.
President Trump issued an executive order in March directing the agency to propose a rule requiring states to provide a list to the Postal Service of eligible voters at least 60 days before any federal elections, in line with the president’s efforts to crackdown on- suspected mail-in voter fraud.
Democrats have argued that the proposed rule shows Trump is attempting to federalize elections and questioned whether the Postal Service has the authority to enforce the rule, as the responsibility of administrating elections falls on the states under the Constitution.
Steiner conceded that his agency does not have the authority to administer elections but instead characterized the rule as a procedural precaution to ensure ballots are being sent to eligible voters only.
“I would think that states would want the information to ensure that the ballots that they think they’re sending out are the ballots that are actually getting sent out,” Steiner said.
He also reiterated that the Postal Service would comply with any court orders governing voting by mail.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) argued that the rule is an attempt by Trump to improperly insert the federal government into election administration and directly appealed to Steiner to stop it.
“Please push back on being a pawn in this authoritarian playbook,” she said to Steiner. “The Postal Service is one of the most important institutions in our country. Don’t taint it with the obsession of this one man.”
Trump’s executive order directs the Postal Service to issue a final rule by the end of July. The proposal is currently undergoing a 30-day public comment period that began earlier this month.
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