WASHINGTON, Aug 21 (Reuters) – The U.S. Postal Service published a final rule late on Friday to tighten requirements for mail-in voting ahead of the November congressional elections, despite a court order blocking the changes from taking effect.
USPS said it was issuing its 95-page rule so it could take immediate effect if a court lifted its injunctions on it and be in place for the upcoming election. Under the rule, USPS would not deliver ballots in states that do not comply with the rule’s new standards.
USPS’ final rule requires states to provide lists of voters who received mailed ballots to the agency.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston blocked USPS from adopting those rules ordered by President Donald Trump ahead of the November elections that will decide control of Congress.
Trump, a Republican, signed his executive order in March after years of calling for tighter rules on voting by mail and pushing the false claim that his 2020 election defeat was the result of widespread voter fraud.
The rule, which was posted late on Friday, will be formally published on August 26 but USPS will take no action to implement the order unless a court lifts the injunction. USPS declined to comment citing the ongoing litigation. The White House did not immediately comment.
Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias, a Trump critic, said USPS had “caved to Trump” in criticizing the regulation and its legal rationale.
Under the rule, if it takes effect, USPS will not collect or record party affiliation and will not inspect ballot contents, and postal workers are not authorized to open mail sealed against inspection. USPS will maintain data from the exterior of the envelope, including address and barcode information.
USPS Postmaster General David Steiner defended the plan in June, saying the Postal Service is making sure “we match the ballots that a state believes they’re sending out to what actually gets sent out.”
Many states and Democrats in Congress have argued USPS does not have authority and it is too close to the election to drastically change election rules.
The rule unveiled on Friday would require states to provide to the USPS the names and barcodes tied to their mail-in ballots for federal elections and require states to provide unique barcodes applied to the outbound and return ballot mail envelopes.
USPS said earlier it “will help determine adherence to federal law and facilitate law enforcement efforts.”