Rep. Panetta Joins Nearly 100 Lawmakers in Demanding USPS Halt Mail Ballot Rule

September 11, 2026 Press Release Monterey, CA – United States Representative Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) joined Reps. Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Chris Pappas (NH-01), and Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), along with nearly 100 other members of Congress, in demanding that Postmaster General David Steiner halt implementation of a new U.S. Postal Service (USPS) rule carrying out President Trump’s executive order restricting mail ballot delivery. The lawmakers warned that the rule could throw the nation’s election system into uncertainty and chaos just weeks before states begin sending mail-in ballots to millions of Americans. The rule would require USPS employees to cross-reference mail ballots against voter information supplied by states, effectively asking postal workers to act as election judges. “The evidence is clear: Voting by mail is safe, effective, and helps to ensure everyone is able to execute their constitutional right to vote,” wrote the lawmakers. “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 lawmakers pointed to USPS’s longstanding record of successfully delivering election mail and the extremely low incidence of mail-voting fraud. During the 2024 election cycle, USPS delivered 99.22 million ballots, including ballots for servicemembers overseas, and delivered 99.88% of election mail within seven days. A 2025 Brookings Institution study cited in the letter found an average of just four cases of voter fraud for every 10 million mail-in votes cast. The letter also raises serious questions about USPS’s compliance with court orders governing the Administration’s mail-ballot policy. An anonymous whistleblower alleged that USPS resumed development of its Federal Ballot Mail Portal around July 29 while an injunction remained in effect and that work continued even after an August 27 temporary restraining order barred further preparatory steps. The lawmakers wrote that those allegations are difficult to square with USPS’s representation that it would take no action to implement the rule while the injunctions remained in place. “This rule is a solution in search of a problem,” continued the lawmakers. “For these reasons, we respectfully ask that you halt the implementation of this final rule.” Rep. Panetta and his colleagues demanded answers from Postmaster General Steiner, including whether USPS conducted a financial analysis of the rule, whether development of the Federal Ballot Mail Portal continued while court orders were in effect, whether USPS coordinated with the White House in developing the rule, how many postal employees would participate in ballot verification, and how USPS plans to handle ballots in states that have already printed envelopes that do not comply with the new requirements. The full text of the letter is available here and below: 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.” We believe that it is telling that the primary supporters of the rule are arguing in its favor almost exclusively on the grounds that it would help eliminate an exceedingly rare problem. Furthermore, these concerns are compounded by questions about USPS's candor with Congress and the courts. At the June 24, 2026 Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, you reiterated that USPS would comply with any court orders governing mail-in voting. Yet an anonymous whistleblower disclosure submitted to Senator Blumenthal describes a different pattern: after USPS halted work on the Federal Ballot Mail Portal following the June 25, 2026 injunction, the whistleblower alleges USPS ordered development to resume around July 29, 2026 — while that injunction remained in effect — and that work continued even after the August 27, 2026 Temporary Restraining Order again barred USPS from taking further preparatory steps. This is difficult to square with USPS's own representation in the Final Rule that it would take no action to implement the rule while the injunctions remained in place. Although we believe that this rule is unconstitutional and illegal, we also have grave concerns with how this rule would be implemented given the extremely short time frame before election mail is sent by states and voters. Under this rule, USPS would be asking its employees – many of whom are already overworked and understaffed – to essentially act as election judges by and 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. Given the Postal Service’s current financial crisis – which you are asking for support from Congress to solve – and subpar on-time delivery rates, it does not make sense to dedicate limited USPS resources to implement this rule, especially when USPS’s existing election mail procedures have proved to be extremely effective. This rule is a solution in search of a problem. For these reasons, we respectfully ask that you halt the implementation of this final rule. We also ask that you respond to the following questions no later than Thursday September 10, 2026: 1. Has the USPS commissioned or completed a comprehensive financial analysis on the implementation costs of this rule? If so, please provide it to Congress. 2. Did USPS continue development of the Federal Ballot Mail Portal or related IT systems at any time while a court order enjoining implementation of Section 3 of Executive Order 14399 was in effect? If so, please provide the specific dates on which that work occurred and the legal rationale for continuing it while the injunction remained in place. 3. How could USPS represent—both publicly and in the Final Rule itself—that it would take no steps to implement the rule while the relevant injunctions remained in effect, when development work apparently continued during that same period? 4. Prior to issuing this rule, did anyone at USPS coordinate with or seek input from the White House about the contents of the rule? If so, in what form was input requested and please identify all White House political appointees and officials who were consulted? 5. Prior to issuing this rule, did anyone at USPS coordinate with or seek input from local and state election officials about the contents of the rule, specifically surrounding implementation? 6. How many USPS employees are expected to participate in the ballot verification process, and how will USPS fund additional training for employees without disrupting existing mail operations? 7. Given that multiple states begin mailing absentee ballots in a matter of days, under this rule, how does the Postal Service intend to deliver ballots in states that have already printed envelopes for the 2026 general election that do not comply with the envelope design standards required under the final rule? Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to receiving your response. Sincerely, ###