Senators Coons, Blunt Rochester, colleagues demand USPS abandon proposed rule to carry out President Trump’s illegal order restricting vote by mail

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Chris Coons and Lisa Blunt Rochester (both D-Del.), as well as Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and the rest of their Democratic colleagues wrote to the United States Postal Service (USPS) demanding it abandon its proposed rule to implement President Trump's unconstitutional executive order to restrict voting by mail.

The senators sent a previous letter in April that urged the USPS to not carry out President Trump's executive order, which would force states to submit absentee voters' information to the postal service for the creation of a federal mail-in voter list. Under this order, USPS could refuse to deliver millions of ballots to voters who are not on that list, giving the agency an unprecedented and illegal role in the administration of American elections. The USPS has not responded to that letter and has affirmed President Trump's executive order by issuing a proposed rule that allows the postal service to determine whether millions of Americans can receive and cast ballots through the mail.

"We write for a second time regarding the unconstitutional and illegal attempt to transform the United States Postal Service into an election administration agency controlled by the White House and President Trump," wrote the senators."In April, 37 senators wrote to you after President Trump issued his Executive Order directing USPS to issue a rule to establish compulsory specifications for election mail and create a master absentee voter list of millions of American voters - with the power to refuse to deliver their ballots."

The senators continued: "Despite these grave and serious legal deficiencies, on June 2, 2026, USPS published a proposed rule that, if finalized, would establish President Trump's control over federal elections and allow USPS to adjudicate who can and cannot vote by mail. This proposed rule risks disenfranchising millions of voters. We again insist that you follow the law, refuse to implement President Trump's Executive Order, and withdraw this presidentially-directed proposed rule."

The senators warned that the proposed rule would create a federally controlled national list of absentee voters, raising serious concerns about potential misuse and abuse. In court filings, the administration has acknowledged that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is already in discussions with USPS about potentially comparing the list to DHS datasets. The senators raised concerns that combining USPS data with unreliable federal records could lead to eligible voters being disenfranchised, or voters and election officials being unfairly targeted for investigation.

"Ultimately, the proposed rule seeks to create a centralized national absentee voter database with individualized barcodes connected to the voters' names under the control of the President that contains the voting information of millions of Americans," wrote the senators. "That information would be ripe for potential abuse or improper disclosure potentially imperiling the integrity of American elections."

"Accordingly, we insist that the Postal Service abandon this proposed regulation and return to its core mission of providing universal postal services to every American. The Constitution and federal law demand nothing less," the senators concluded.

Joining Senators Coons, Blunt Rochester, Peters, and Padilla in sending the letter are Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Read the full letter to the U.S. Postal Service here.