{"id":2649199,"date":"2026-08-25T08:16:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T12:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignusps-voter-data-rule-puts-pressure-on-courts-to-lift-injunctions-before-election-day\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T09:52:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T13:52:21","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignusps-voter-data-rule-puts-pressure-on-courts-to-lift-injunctions-before-election-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignusps-voter-data-rule-puts-pressure-on-courts-to-lift-injunctions-before-election-day\/","title":{"rendered":"USPS Voter Data Rule Pressures Courts To Lift Injunctions Before Election"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignusps-voter-data-rule-puts-pressure-on-courts-to-lift-injunctions-before-election-day%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2649199&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has issued a new rule requiring states to submit certain voter data in order to use mail services for sending federal election ballots. This includes providing voter names, addresses, unique barcodes for ballots, and the originating state. The rule aims to improve ballot mailing processes and prevent ineligible voting, but it does not alter state voter laws or eligibility requirements. <\/p>\n<p>Implementation is temporarily blocked by federal court injunctions in California and Massachusetts, but the Supreme Court has issued a stay, allowing the USPS rule to proceed while legal challenges continue. The court&#8217;s decision emphasizes that delays could impact the upcoming 2026 midterm elections. If the injunctions are lifted, states will have about 30 days before the november 3 elections to comply.<\/p>\n<p>The rule clarifies that the USPS will not verify voter eligibility or citizenship and that the process relies solely on data provided by states. It also states that ballots may be rejected if standards are not met but emphasizes that this does not mean ballots are invalid. <\/p>\n<p>Critics, including the ACLU, argue that the data requirements violate voter privacy, though supporters view the rule as a safeguard to ensure election integrity. The final outcome of the legal proceedings remains uncertain.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The United States Postal Service (USPS) will require states to submit some voter data in order to use the mail service to send mail-in ballots for federal elections, according to a new rule released Friday. The mail delivery organization noted that enforcement of compliance would require \u201ctimely relief\u201d from two injunctions blocking a similar executive order signed in March.<\/p>\n<p>An end-of-day per curiam <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/25pdf\/26a124_hgci.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">opinion<\/a> from the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked the injunctions Monday as the government goes through the appeals process, though the order is not the final say on the matter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Government has asked us to stay the injunction, arguing that it is likely to succeed on the merits of its jurisdictional argument, that the injunction is causing irreparable harm, and that the equities do not favor leaving the injunction in place while the Government\u2019s appeal is pending,\u201d the high court <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/25pdf\/26a124_hgci.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stated<\/a>. \u201cWe agree and grant the stay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause reversal of the District Court\u2019s judgment would come too late for the 2026 midterms, the District Court\u2019s errors deal \u2018a serious setback\u2019 to the Executive\u2019s \u2018goals\u2019 while this litigation unfolds,\u201d the court added. \u201cWhen a federal court \u2018improperly intrudes on a coordinate branch\u2019 in this way, interim relief is justified.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The USPS rule requires states to submit some voter data to the federal government through a portal, along with changing return-mail envelopes to include a barcode, in order for those ballots to be carried by the mail service. The rule does some work to mitigate ineligible voters from casting ballots, but does not implement the full measure of requirements <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/save-america-act\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">offered<\/a> in legislation like the SAVE America Act.<\/p>\n<p>According t<a href=\"https:\/\/public-inspection.federalregister.gov\/2026-17238.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">o USPS<\/a>, the state must provide the name of the voter, the address of that individual, a unique intelligent mail barcode (IMb) for that individual on outbound and return envelopes, and the originating election office state.<\/p>\n<p>The rule stated it does not seek to alter state law or voter eligibility requirements created by each state, but rather relates \u201conly to the use of the U.S. Mail,\u201d and notes the onus on each state to comply and maintain its own voter rolls.<\/p>\n<p>The Postal Service rule also acknowledged two injunctions in federal courts in California and Massachusetts regarding the underlying executive order, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2026\/03\/ensuring-citizenship-verification-and-integrity-in-federal-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections<\/a>.\u201d These injunctions, now blocked by SCOTUS, stopped implementation until lifted. The rule suggested there was a need for urgency to lift the injunctions so that states can comply with the rule for the upcoming midterm elections in November.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the government obtains timely relief from the injunctions, implementation immediately thereafter will provide election officials as much time as possible before the next election to comply with the rule\u2019s preparation standards for Federal Ballot Mail envelopes, and to prepare to submit data to the Federal Ballot Mail Portal (\u2018Portal\u2019), before the mail-in and absentee ballots subject to this rule are mailed (which generally occurs in September or thereafter, as determined by state law),\u201d the rule states. \u201cThe Portal will become active (along with the verification process that relies on Portal data) at the time of the publication of the system of records (\u2018SOR\u2019) governing the Portal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Solicitor General Tom Sauer filed a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/26\/26A124\/419850\/20260824090345737_Trump%20v.%20California%20stay%20second%20supp%20brief_file.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">brief<\/a> Monday notifying the justices of the new rule prior to their per curiam decision.<\/p>\n<p>The full scope of what the rule would do remains unclear, because Sauer also noted that the rule \u201ccontrary to the district court\u2019s assumption \u2026 does not simply mirror the proposals outlined in Section 3 of Executive Order 14,399. For example, the Postal Service will not refuse to transmit ballots from individuals who were not included on a state-submitted list.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The rule itself states that if a \u201cstate complies with the rule\u2019s relatively modest mail preparation and data entry standards, voters should not experience any difference from the status quo.\u201d But it also states: \u201cWhile it is true that outbound mail-in ballots may be rejected from the mailstream as a consequence of noncompliance with the rule\u2019s requirements, conditions on the acceptance of mailable matter are distinct from a determination that the matter is nonmailable. Moreover, compliance is straightforward: states need only provide information that is inscribed on the outside of Federal Ballot Mail envelopes, which will necessarily be in their possession.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It also states that the rule only requires that ballot envelopes meet certain requirements, but that those requirements are tied to the voter data. Voter lists, however, \u201cwill be based entirely on data in the possession of, and provided by, the states, and the Postal Service will not change the content of those lists.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The verification process also does not include USPS verifying addresses, names, voter eligibility, or citizenship status, and the rule states \u201cit bears repeating that the Portal is not in any way a federal voting database; instead, it establishes a mechanism whereby states can provide data, which is fully within their possession and control, regarding Federal Ballot mailings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Left-wing groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/voting-rights-organizations-seek-to-enforce-injunction-against-mail-voting-executive-order\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">agitating<\/a> to stop implementation, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >claiming data requirements \u201cviolate voters\u2019 privacy<\/a>,\u201d when it is evident that such groups simply want rampant voter fraud and no safeguards for elections.<\/p>\n<p>It is unclear how the appeal process will go, but the rule gives states a \u201cflexible\u201d 30 days prior to the Nov. 3 election to notify USPS if they plan to comply.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Breccan F. Thies is the White House correspondent for The Federalist. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. As an investigative journalist, he previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>USPS mandates voter data for mail-in ballots amid legal delays<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2649201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1280px-USPS_delivery_vehicle.webp.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[84621,11330,34184],"class_list":["post-2649199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-court-injunctions","tag-usps","tag-voter-data"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1280px-USPS_delivery_vehicle.webp.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2649199"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2649252,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649199\/revisions\/2649252"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2649201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2649199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2649199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2649199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}