David Steiner defended the USPS proposed mail ballot rule on June 24 at a U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, saying the Postal Service would not deliver ballots in states that refuse to comply. The plan would require states to give the Postal Service voter-roll information and ballot barcodes tied to mail-in ballots for federal elections.
Steiner said the rule would also require unique barcodes on outbound and return ballot envelopes. The proposal says those barcodes would help determine adherence to federal law and support law enforcement efforts.
Gary Peters at the hearing
Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the committee, said the proposal would force states to hand over absentee voter rolls or lose mail voting access. "The proposed rule basically coerces states to conform to these new requirements and hand over their absentee voter rolls, or face the consequences of not being able to vote by mail," he said. Peters added, "That's unacceptable."
All 47 Democratic senators wrote to the Postal Service on Wednesday urging it to drop the plan. They called it an unconstitutional and illegal attempt to turn USPS into an election administration agency controlled by the White House and President Trump.
Elissa Slotkin challenges Steiner
Elissa Slotkin pressed Steiner during the hearing and told him, "You are being used (by President Trump)." She also said, "He does not believe elections that he loses are valid elections."
The rule stems from Trump's March executive order aimed at severely restricting mail-in voting. Last week, a U.S. judge said Democratic-led states and voting rights groups could proceed with lawsuits challenging that order, keeping the dispute in court while the Postal Service rule moves ahead.
Postal Service rule fight
Steiner framed the proposal as a way to mirror what many states already do, while Democratic senators said it would cross into election administration. For states, the practical issue is simple: if they do not provide the requested lists and barcode data, the Postal Service says ballots would not be delivered under the rule as written.
The immediate question now is which states would refuse to comply and test that threat, because the answer would determine whether the rule stays a paper requirement or becomes an election-day delivery problem in the United States.
