On June 25, a federal judge in Massachusetts blocked parts of Executive Order 14399 Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections. The executive order directed the United States Postal Service (USPS) to limit who can vote by mail based on ballot requirements and state-specific mail-in voter lists.
The U.S. Constitution is clear — states control elections. The White House and the Postal Service do not.
However, as directed in the executive order, the Postal Service published a proposed rule on June 2. If implemented, this rule would give USPS unprecedented control over how voting by mail is administered. The fundamental purpose of the Postal Service is to provide universal service to all, not to decide who gets a mail ballot or to disenfranchise American voters.
Over 20 states and numerous organizations concerned with voting rights filed lawsuits in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. Many states have pledged not to release their voter rolls to the Postal Service.
Yet, Postmaster General David Steiner doubled down before the Senate on June 24 and testified that if the proposed rule goes into effect, the USPS will not accept mail ballots in states that do not turn over lists of their absentee voters.
The law is clear that the Postal Service should not comply with Executive Order 14399 since it is blatantly unconstitutional. The June 25 court decision makes this clear and while it is a step in the right direction, the White House will likely appeal.
The fight to protect Universal Service and voting by mail is not over. The public comment period on the Postal Service’s proposed rule is open until Thursday, July 2, at 5 p.m. ET. It takes just a few minutes to have your voice heard, and it could make the difference for millions of voters.
Click here to submit your comment today!
The post Judge Blocks the Postal Service from Unlawfully Restricting Vote-by-Mail first appeared on APWU.