1. United States
2. Maine
3. Letter

As your constituent, I am writing to ask you to oppose and oversee the United States Postal Service (USPS) proposed rule, “Ballot Mail for Federal Elections” (Federal Register Document 2026-10968). USPS should deliver election mail reliably and neutrally; it should not create a federal ballot-mail compliance system that risks delaying or rejecting ballots. USPS SHOULD DELIVER BALLOTS, NOT REGULATE ELECTIONS The Postal Service has an essential election role: moving mail. This proposal goes further by requiring voter-level data, unique ballot-mail identifiers, federal portal compliance, and possible rejection of ballot mail for technical errors by election offices or vendors. USPS LACKS THE STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR THIS SYSTEM USPS has not identified clear congressional authority for a system linking identifiable voters to ballot-mail identifiers. General postal-management statutes may support mailpiece standards, but they do not clearly authorize a federal system that conditions ballot-mail acceptance on voter-level reporting. THIS RULE CREATES AN UNPRECEDENTED FEDERAL VOTER DATABASE The proposal would collect names, addresses, election-office data, outbound ballot identifiers, and return ballot identifiers. USPS has not yet published the Privacy Act notice, burden analysis, or other supporting materials necessary for meaningful public review. The proposal may also impose substantial new technology, training, vendor, and compliance costs on election offices that have not been adequately analyzed. THIS RULE CONFLICTS WITH STATE ELECTION DEADLINES AND PROCEDURES State and local election officials operate under state-law deadlines, vendor contracts, staffing limits, and fixed election calendars. If USPS rejects a mailing because of a portal problem, barcode mismatch, data-entry error, or vendor mistake, eligible voters could lose timely access to ballots through no fault of their own. NO EVIDENCE SUPPORTS A RULE OF THIS SCOPE AND COST USPS has not shown that existing election-mail practices are inadequate. It has not published evidence of a problem requiring this rule, compared voluntary alternatives, disclosed costs, or analyzed burdens on small, rural, tribal, and under-resourced election offices. CONCRETE STEPS TO PROTECT ELECTION MAIL AND VOTER ACCESS (1) OPPOSE THE RULE. Urge USPS to withdraw the proposal unless Congress clearly authorizes any voter-level ballot-mail system. (2) CONDUCT OVERSIGHT. Ask USPS to produce its legal authority, administrative record, cost analysis, privacy analysis, cybersecurity framework, and implementation plan. (3) PROTECT VOTERS. Require emergency acceptance, same-day correction, expedited review, and a presumption against rejection whenever voters could lose timely ballot access. (4) REQUIRE REPUBLICATION. Insist that USPS republish any revised proposal only after releasing the missing privacy, burden, technical, cybersecurity, and evidentiary materials. Thank you.