Democratic Governors Oppose Postal Service’s Proposed Rule on Voting

A group of Democratic governors has urged the U.S. Postal Service to retract a proposed rule linked to a March executive order by former President Donald Trump. This order aimed to form a federal list of eligible voters and could have restricted mail ballot recipients.

The executive order instructed agencies like U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Social Security Administration to compile a “citizenship list” for states. It also directed the Postal Service to limit ballot mailings to individuals on these lists.

The Postal Service submitted the proposed rule in late May. However, a federal judge has since blocked Trump’s order. The judge ruled it unconstitutional, as election regulation powers rest with states and Congress, not the president.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker spearheaded the response, backed by eight other Democratic governors, including those from California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin. They cited the judge’s decision and urged the Postal Service to retract the rule, arguing it would erode trust in elections and potentially disenfranchise millions of voters.

“Far from ensuring integrity in federal elections,” the governors wrote, “the Proposed Rule would undermine trust in elections, needlessly complicate voting processes, arbitrarily disenfranchise millions of eligible voters, and undermine states’ constitutional role in ensuring free and fair elections.”

They also expressed concern that the Postal Service would gain the power to withhold ballot delivery if a state did not comply with Trump’s directives. The Postal Service has not responded to requests for comment.

The proposed rule was filed in the Federal Register after a judge in a separate lawsuit chose not to block Trump’s order. The judge noted the administration had not yet acted to enforce the order. Democratic and civil rights groups involved in that lawsuit are appealing the decision.

Former President Trump faced criticism from postal workers as well. Jonathan Smith, the president of the American Postal Workers Union, commented that verifying voter eligibility is not part of the Postal Service’s duties.

This is the second executive order focused on election oversight signed by Trump. His first order, also halted by the courts, sought documented proof of citizenship for voter registration.

Both orders focused on targeting noncitizen voting, despite state and local investigations suggesting such cases are rare. Trump has also expressed unfounded concerns about mail voting fraud, a method he uses himself. Mail voting has grown in popularity across political lines, and a Brookings Institution report in 2025 found fraud in mail voting to be minimal, occurring at a rate of about four cases per 10 million mail ballots.