U.S. Postal Service
The U.S. Postal Service is the independent federal agency responsible for mail delivery, and carries mail ballots in every state that uses them. All of its entries fall in 2026 and record its role in implementing executive directives affecting mail-in voting.
2026 Events (4)
AP reporting revealed USPS mail-transport changes drove ballot-rejection surge in Washington, Oregon
Associated Press reporting on newly released state data, published September 8, 2026, revealed that ballot rejections for late postmarks have surged in Washington and Oregon since the U.S. Postal Service reduced mail-transport frequency and adopted a rule redefining when a postmark is dated. Oregon's May 2026 primary saw a 13% late-postmark rejection rate, up from 9.5% two years earlier, and Washington's August 2026 primary saw 20,267 ballots rejected, up from 16,131 in 2024, with some rural counties' rejection rates quadrupling. Senators and election officials had warned for months that the changes -- a postmark rule effective December 2025 and a since-2025 reduction in mail-transport frequency -- would produce exactly this outcome.
Postmaster General Steiner announced USPS will refuse mail ballot delivery in states withholding voter data under Trump elections order
On June 24, 2026, U.S. Postmaster General David Steiner announced that the Postal Service would refuse to deliver mailed ballots in states that declined to submit voter lists and associated ballot barcodes to the federal government, as demanded by a proposed rule implementing President Trump's Executive Order 14399. The announcement came as all 47 Democratic senators wrote to USPS warning that such voter lists would be "ripe for abuse" and likely to contain inaccuracies that would prevent eligible voters from casting ballots. The coercive policy was announced on the same day a federal court blocked separate provisions of EO 14399 requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote.
U.S. Postal Service proposes rule requiring states to submit mail-ballot voter lists, implementing Trump's elections executive order
On May 29, 2026, the U.S. Postal Service issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (published in the Federal Register June 2) that would require state election officials to submit the names and ballot barcodes of voters who request mail-in or absentee ballots to a new federal "Federal Ballot Mail Portal," and would direct USPS to deliver ballots only to voters on the resulting lists. The rulemaking implements President Trump's March 31 executive order (EO 14399) asserting federal control over mail voting — authority the Constitution's Elections Clause reserves to the states and to Congress, not the president. The proposal is not final and faces legal challenge; the act recorded here is the executive directing a federal agency to claim that authority, not the (contingent) disenfranchisement that would follow if it takes effect.
USPS proposed lifting handgun-mailing ban after DOJ opinion, benefiting retailer where Trump Jr. holds a stake
The U.S. Postal Service published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on April 2, 2026 to lift the 1927 federal prohibition on mailing handguns, acting on a Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel opinion issued January 15, 2026 that found the ban unconstitutional as applied to handguns. The Washington Post later reported that Donald Trump Jr. holds more than 300,000 shares and a board seat in GrabAGun, an online firearms retailer whose business model depends on expanded ability to ship guns directly to buyers. Trump Jr.'s spokesperson and administration officials denied any influence over the policy change.