Michigan Senators Elissa Slotkin and Gary Peters are escalating their fight against a proposed U.S. Postal Service (USPS) regulation that could allow the agency to halt the delivery of mail-in ballots. In a newly released letter, the lawmakers demanded the USPS immediately abandon the rule, which was officially published on June 2, 2026.
The policy stems from a presidential executive order requiring states to submit absentee voter information to create a federal mail-in voter list. Under the directive, the Postal Service could refuse to deliver ballots to voters who do not appear on the federal master list.
The latest push follows an unanswered April letter signed by 37 senators warning against the directive. “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,” Slotkin and Peters wrote in their joint statement. “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.”
According to the lawmakers, the resulting database would attach individualized barcodes to voter names under direct White House oversight, creating an unprecedented federal role in local election administration.
The senators raised specific alarms over recent administration court filings, which revealed that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is discussing plans to compare this new USPS database against its own federal datasets. Opponents argue that matching mail-in voting logs with potentially flawed federal records could cause eligible voters to be dropped or lead to unwarranted investigations of local election officials.
“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,” the senators wrote. “That information would be ripe for potential abuse or improper disclosure potentially imperiling the integrity of American elections.”
The formal letter aligns with sharp exchanges during recent Senate committee hearings on the matter. Addressing Postmaster General David Steiner directly during a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee proceeding, Slotkin criticized the framework as an overreach into local election administration.
“And now we have this new rule that you’ve put out saying that states have to turn over their voting rolls, and you, the U.S. Postal Service, will decide, okay, who’s approved to send their ballot through the mail,” Slotkin told Steiner. “It’s just another backdoor way of trying to influence this election. And I just ask you as a professional, as someone who’s done serious things in your life, please push back on being a pawn in this authoritarian playbook. The Postal Service is one of the most important institutions in our country. Don’t taint it with the obsession of this one man. Please push back.”
Steiner defended the agency’s proposal, maintaining that the rule is an administrative logistics measure rather than a political tool. According to USPS officials, the database is intended to function purely as a tracking manifest to match outbound mail to state records, and the agency will not be adjudicating the legality of individual voter registrations.
Supporters of the policy, including Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH), have also dismissed allegations of White House overreach. Moreno argued during committee proceedings that the directive serves as a necessary security measure to prevent voter fraud and secure the mailing system, rather than an attempt to nationalize local election processes.
Nevertheless, Slotkin and Peters maintained that election logistics must remain strictly under state control to avoid widespread disruption at the polls.
“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,” the senators wrote. “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. 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.”
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
