Budzinski, Pappas, Krishnamoorthi Lead Letter Urging USPS to Revoke Rule Codifying Mail-in Voting Executive Order

Resources / Press Share on Budzinski, Pappas, Krishnamoorthi Lead Letter Urging USPS to Revoke Rule Codifying Mail-in Voting Executive Order Sep 04, 2026 Press WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) , Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) , and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), led 97 Members of Congress in a letter to Postmaster General David P. Steiner, calling on him to revoke a Postal Service rule that codifies President Trump’s Executive Order targeting vote-by-mail. In the letter, the lawmakers argue the rule addresses a problem that doesn’t exist. They point to a 2025 Brookings Institution study finding an average of just four cases of voter fraud for every 10 million mail-in ballots cast — and that states using universal mail-in voting have among the lowest fraud rates in the country. “The evidence is clear: voting by mail is safe, effective, and helps to ensure everyone is able to execute their constitutional right to vote. USPS has played an essential role in elections for generations – and it is our fear that this final rule risks harming the democratic process and severely damaging USPS’s relationship with the millions of Americans who rely on USPS to deliver ballots every election cycle,” the members wrote. The lawmakers warn that if the rule survives legal challenge, it would carry real consequences: disrupting operations for tens of thousands of USPS employees, creating new obstacles for tens of millions of voters who rely on mail-in ballots, and further eroding public trust in the electoral process. “Under this rule, USPS would be asking its employees – many of whom are already overworked and understaffed – to essentially act as election judges by cross-referencing mail-in ballots with lists provided by states. It is irresponsible to impose these additional and undefined responsibilities that would be outside the normal expectations of a USPS employee,” they continued. Congresswoman Budzinski has been a staunch advocate of improved mail service, while strongly opposing efforts toward privatization and proposals that would reduce service reliability and speed for rural communities. Budzinski leads the bipartisan Congressional Postal Service Caucus , a bipartisan group that focuses on these issues in the House of Representatives. The full text of the letter is HERE and below: Postmaster General David P. Steiner 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW Washington, DC 20260 Postmaster General Steiner: We write to express our grave concerns with the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) Final Rule entitled “Ballot Mail For Federal Elections” issued on August 21, 2026. If implemented, this rule would throw our nation’s entire election system into a state of uncertainty and chaos just weeks before states begin sending mail-in ballots to millions of voters. The implementation of this rule would also further undermine public trust in the USPS’s ability to deliver election mail to the tens of millions of Americans who utilize the Postal Service to cast their ballot every election cycle. As you know, during the 2024 election cycle USPS delivered 99.22 million ballots for Americans from every corner of the country as well as our servicemen and women serving our nation overseas. USPS delivered 99.88% of election mail within seven days of being sent, and 97.73% within three days, with the average time to deliver ballots from voters to election officials being 1 day. USPS was similarly effective in delivering mail-in ballots during the 2022 midterm and 2020 general election and has been relied on to deliver absentee ballots since the Civil War. Voter fraud through vote-by-mail is incredibly rare. In 2025, the nonpartisan Brookings Institution found that there are on average four cases of voter fraud for every 10 million mail-in votes, comprising about 0.000043% of total mail-in votes cast. Contrary to claims by President Trump and his allies that mail-in voting encourages fraud, Brookings found that universal vote-by-mail states had the lowest percentage of election mail fraud. The evidence is clear: voting by mail is safe, effective, and helps to ensure everyone is able to execute their constitutional right to vote. USPS has played an essential role in elections for generations – and it is our fear that this final rule risks harming the democratic process and severely damaging USPS’s relationship with the millions of Americans who rely on USPS to deliver ballots every election cycle. This administration’s actions appear to be a misguided effort to correct a problem that does not exist. As mentioned above, every neutral and nonpartisan study on vote-by-mail shows that there has never been systemic fraud associated with voting by mail. However, the primary comments in support of the rule discussed “voter fraud as a significant problem and lauded the proposed rule for helping to restore voters’ confidence in election integrity.”6 We believe that it is telling that the primary supporters of the rule a