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Donald Trump is trying to turn the United States Postal Service into a federal checkpoint for mail ballots – and the USPS is getting ready to make it happen. If this proposed USPS regulation moves forward, millions of registered voters would not even receive their ballots to vote in federal elections, including for Congress or for President. Let’s be crystal clear here: We’re not even talking about people mailing in their ballots yet. We’re talking about the post office checking a list before sending eligible voters the ballots needed to vote in the first place. The proposed rule is based on Trump’s March executive order attacking voting by mail under the false flag of election security. It would require state election officials to send USPS a list of voters based in part on Department of Homeland Security — created citizenship databases that have repeatedly been shown to be inaccurate and flawed.[1] If voters aren’t on the list, they will not receive a ballot in the mail. Voting by mail is safe, secure, convenient, and for many people, it is the only accessible way to cast a ballot. Seniors, voters with disabilities, rural voters, Indigenous voters, military families, students, caregivers, and working people all rely on the post office to exercise their right to vote. The Postal Service delivers the mail. It does not run elections. The USPS serves every address in America, regardless of party, race, income, geography, disability, age, or citizenship status. Its job is to provide universal service to the public, not carry out Trump’s voter suppression agenda. We have fought attacks on vote by mail before, and when the public speaks up and fights back, we’ve won. The USPS is required to accept public comments on this rule before they can implement it. It’s time to fight back and win – again.
Trump is trying to weaponize the Postal Service to block eligible votes. The Postal Service has a clear public mission: deliver the mail to all of us. It does not exist to help Donald Trump intimidate voters, burden election officials, or illegally exercise power over state-run elections. Trump’s so-called “Citizenship Verification” plan would drag postal workers and our public post office into a political fight they should have no part in. State election officials already have reliable systems in place under state law to determine who is eligible to receive a mail-in ballot. Trump’s plan would add a new federal process that thwarts those systems and illegally forces USPS into a role it was never meant to play. Thank you for standing up for the Postal Service and the voters who rely on it. - Annie and the Save the Post Office Coalition Team. [1] A federal tool to check voter citizenship keeps making mistakes. It led to confusion in Texas.
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