New Jersey Democrats have demanded that the United States Postal Service ignore President Trump’s executive order on implementing election ballot safeguards.
In a letter to Postmaster General David Steiner, lawmakers claim that “any effort to involve the United States Postal Service (‘USPS’) in carrying out this executive order—especially in ways that affect the handling, timing, or treatment of election mail—must be rejected.”
“In New Jersey, election officials have shown that our systems, including vote-by mail, can be both secure and accessible to eligible voters,” the letter notes, going on to describe their efforts for election integrity, such as “timelines and rules for the delivery, receipt, and counting of ballots.”
“The dangers of federal overreach regarding elections—both in New Jersey and across the country—are not just theoretical. They are immediate and real,” it adds. “Any federal action, whether through directive, pressure, or operational change, that disrupts these systems would be unlawful and could disenfranchise voters who rely on the mail to cast their ballots.”
The letter specifically targets President Trump’s recent executive order directing the Postmaster General to launch a proposed rulemaking process wherein outbound ballot mail is marked as Official Election Mail and has a unique mail barcode that aids in its tracking.
“The right to vote in Federal elections is reserved exclusively for citizens of the United States under the Constitution and Federal law. Federal statutes explicitly prohibit non-citizens from registering to vote or voting in Federal elections and impose criminal penalties for violations,” the order declares. It goes on to state that the U.S. government has an “unavoidable duty” to enforce the law, which includes “preventing violations of Federal criminal law and maintaining public confidence in election outcomes.”
