USPS officials said this provision is meant to ensure rules are being followed and to give police the tools and data they need to catch lawbreakers.
“For example, the provided lists will evidence how many ballots have been mailed, and allow law enforcement officials to compare the total number of mailed ballots to the total number of received ballots to detect potential issues meriting further investigation,” the filing reads. “This is accomplished by ensuring that individuals who receive a mail-in or absentee ballot are included on the State-Specific Participation Lists.”
Additionally, law enforcement can use the barcodes on ballot envelopes to identify individual voters.
“Under this proposal, states would retain full control over who would (or would not) be able to vote by mail in federal elections within each state, as states would control enrollment with the Postal Service for inclusion on the state’s Mail-In and Absentee Participation List,” officials explained.
The rule does not explicitly say whether voters who aren’t on the federal list can cast ballots by mail. However, in a March executive order by President Donald Trump, focused on increasing citizenship verification and election security, it states, “the USPS shall not transmit mail-in or absentee ballots from any individual unless those individuals have been enrolled on a State-specific list.”
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