Postmaster General David Steiner told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday that under a newly proposed rule the U.S. Postal Service would refuse to deliver mail-in ballots in states that do not hand over a list of approved voters to the Trump administration.
The proposal would require states to provide to the Postal Service the names, addresses and ballot barcode numbers for individuals to receive a mail-in ballot, a set of information the administration says is intended as a manifest to ensure proper delivery.
The proposal is presented as consistent with an executive order the president signed in March to increase federal oversight of elections, and at least five lawsuits have challenged that executive order; some of those cases have stalled because the policy has not yet been enacted. The comment period for the proposed rule is open for the next week.
Steiner defended the idea as routine and a way to make sure ballots are delivered "securely, efficiently, and accurately." He said, "It really is trying to help the state make sure that the ballots that they send to the voters actually get there and get to those voters, and so it's strictly a manifest for us to make sure that the right ballots are going to the right people," and he is an attorney who previously served as the CEO of Waste Management.
Senate Democrats at the hearing criticized the policy as unconstitutional and a backdoor way to influence the election. "Yes or no — 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 proposed rule?" asked Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich. Steiner said, "Under our proposed regulation, no. We would tell the state that we need the manifest." Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said the move was part of a broader effort to federalize elections and argued the president was trying to control outcomes if his party does not win in November.