Following a Supreme Court ruling that blocked President Donald Trump's mail-in voting restrictions for the 2026 midterms, Postmaster General David Steiner announced that the U.S. Postal Service has halted work on a central voter database. While Justice Brett Kavanaugh signaled the rules might eventually be ruled lawful, the agency has instructed employees to proceed with "business as usual" for the upcoming elections.
USPS halts voter database
- ▪The United States Postal Service stopped developing an online computer database central to President Donald Trump's efforts, through his March 2026 executive order, to restrict mail-in voting
- ▪The halted computer system, developed by the U.S. Postal Service under President Donald Trump's March 2026 executive order on mail-in voting, was designed to process statewide lists of registered voters and restrict mail ballots to cleared citizens
- ▪A whistleblower report released by Senator Richard Blumenthal described the Postal Service's online database project as a perilously rushed and potentially unlawful implementation.
Supreme Court blocks Trump order
- ▪The Postal Service rule blocked by the Supreme Court in United States Postal Service, et al. v. California, et al. would have required states to supply voter lists and use unique barcodes on all outbound and return ballot envelopes
- ▪An internal Postal Service memo sent on September 16, 2026, confirmed the agency will not enforce the mail-in voting rules from President Donald Trump's March 2026 executive order during the 2026 federal election
- ▪The Supreme Court declined to lift a nationwide injunction blocking the Postal Service's mail-in ballot rule for the 2026 midterm elections.
Kavanaugh concurrence on authority
- ▪Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented from the Supreme Court's decision in United States Postal Service, et al. v. California, et al., arguing the Trump administration had made the necessary showing for a stay
- ▪Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in a concurring opinion in United States Postal Service, et al. v. California, et al. that there is a fair prospect the Postal Service's final rule implementing President Donald Trump's mail-in voting restrictions falls within the Postal Service's statutory authority
Steiner declines policy position
- ▪Postmaster General David Steiner declined to take a position on President Donald Trump's mail-in voting restriction policy, stating he was focused strictly on operational execution
- ▪Postmaster General David Steiner denied rumors that he was planning to resign from his position at the United States Postal Service.
USPS liquidity crisis
- ▪Postmaster General David Steiner is pressing Congress for legislative changes to help resolve what he described as a liquidity crisis at the U.S. Postal Service
- ▪The U.S. Postal Service plans to charge higher processing rates in future elections for ballot envelopes that do not utilize barcodes
Debatable claims
- ▪The U.S. Postal Service should play a role in verifying voter eligibility
- ▪The Postal Service should require unique barcodes on all mail-in ballot envelopes
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