On March 31, 2026, the President issued Executive Order 14399, Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,91 FR 17125 (2026) (“Order”). The Executive Order discusses the importance of additional measures concerning the use of the mails to vote in federal elections, in order to facilitate enforcement of federal law, reduce the risk of fraud, and help protect the integrity of federal elections. Following the issuance of the Order, the Postal Service submitted this proposed rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for interagency review. Subsequent to that review process, the Postal Service issues this proposed rule regarding the preparation of ballot mail for federal elections to facilitate the enforcement of federal law. The proposed rule would also implement best practices for Postal Service operations regarding ballot mail.
Legal Authority and Rationale
The Postal Service is initiating this rulemaking pursuant to its authority to regulate the mails, including under 39 U.S.C. 401 and 404. Section 401 authorizes the Postal Service “to adopt, amend, and repeal such rules and regulations, not inconsistent with this title, as may be necessary in the execution of its functions under this title and such other functions as may be assigned to the Postal Service under any provisions of law outside of this title.” Section 401 further grants the Postal Service “all other powers incidental, necessary, or appropriate to the carrying on of its functions or the exercise of its specific powers.” Section 404 grants the Postal Service specific powers, including the power “to provide for the collection, handling, transportation, delivery, forwarding, returning, and holding of mail, and for the disposition of undeliverable mail.”
The proposed rule would apply uniform standards for the mailing of absentee ballots to and from voters, which the Postal Service understands will facilitate the faithful execution of federal law. The Postal Service has the authority to change its regulations to achieve this purpose. See39 U.S.C. 401(2) (noting that the Postal Service can issue regulations as necessary to execute functions assigned to it by law); see, e.g.,52 U.S.C. 10307; 52 U.S.C. 20511; cf.18 U.S.C. 3061(b) (authorizing the Postal Service to investigate crimes regarding “the use of the mails” and other appropriate crimes as determined by agreement with the Attorney General). The regulations as proposed accord with that authority, because as detailed below they set forth mailpiece preparation and data reporting standards that can provide information regarding the sending of ballots through the mails that would be available for use by law enforcement, and are consistent with title 39 of the U.S. Code. Additionally, the proposed changes would implement best practices for Postal Service ballot mailing operations, thereby advancing execution of a key Postal Service function.
The Postal Service therefore proposes to amend DMM Section 705 with the provisions described herein. The DMM is incorporated by reference into 39 CFR 111.1 and 111.3.
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