NRLCA President Opposes USPS Final Rule Governing Federal Ballot Mail

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Rural Letter Carriers' Association strongly objects to the United States Postal Service's decision to finalize new rules governing federal ballot mail despite serious legal questions, ongoing litigation, and concerns raised by the NRLCA and others.

NRLCA opposed the Administration's Executive Order targeting vote by mail when it was issued earlier this year, and in July we submitted formal comments urging the Postal Service to withdraw its proposed rule. Our position remains unchanged—the Postal Service should deliver election mail securely, promptly, and neutrally. It should not assume responsibilities that properly belong to state and local election officials.

The Postal Service remains one of America's most trusted public institutions because its employees serve every community without regard to politics. By issuing these rules, Postal Service management and Postmaster General David Steiner are undermining that trust and threatening its reputation with the American public.

The Postal Service has always had a simple role in our elections: deliver the mail, including ballots, without political interference. These new rules would change that. They would give Postal Service management a role in determining whether states have met new federal requirements before their ballots are transmitted through the mail. That threatens the Postal Service's independence and the public trust that postal workers have earned by serving every community without regard to politics.

That represents a significant departure from the Postal Service's traditional role. State and local election officials should determine how elections are administered, while USPS performs the essential and neutral function of transporting ballots between election officials and voters.

Rural Americans have an especially large stake in preserving that system. In communities where voters may live many miles from a polling place, reliable mail service can be an essential connection to the ballot box. New administrative requirements that create the possibility of rejected or delayed ballot mail risk placing additional barriers between rural voters and their ability to participate in elections.

The timing of this rule is also troubling. Federal courts have already issued injunctions preventing implementation of these requirements for the 2026 election, and USPS acknowledges that it cannot implement the rule for this year's election unless those injunctions are lifted.

NRLCA will continue to defend the independence and neutrality of the Postal Service and oppose efforts to turn it into an election enforcement agency.

Established in 1903, the NRLCA represents approximately 130,000 career and non-career rural letter carriers that operate out of more than 10,500 rural and suburban postal delivery units, serving over 85,000 rural routes.

Media Contact:
Melissa Ray
571-480-2641
[email protected]

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SOURCE National Rural Letter Carriers' Association