N.J. Dems call on USPS to refuse to comply with Trump mail-in ballot executive order

Rep. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon) led a letter from New Jersey’s congressional Democrats calling on the U.S. Postal Service to refuse to comply with President Donald Trump’s attempt to increase his administration’s influence over mail-in election systems. 

Trump’s executive order would compile lists of eligible voters and require the Postal Service to cross-check mail-in ballots with those lists, among other changes. The executive order faces legal challenges — the Constitution gives the states and Congress to establish election law, not the president.

The letter, sent to Postmaster General David Steiner, demands that the USPS refuse to implement sections of the executive order that interfere with a state’s ability to administer elections; “publicly reaffirm” the agency’s commitment to neutrality; coordinate with state and local election officials to timely transport election mail; and provide Congress with communications and operational changes related to the executive order.

“USPS is a neutral carrier of election mail—not an election authority,” they wrote. “It cannot assume powers reserved to the states or change its operations in ways that interfere with state election laws or voter access.”

The order would bar the Postal Service from transmitting mail-in ballots belonging to people not on the citizens list, and would use a bar-code tracking system on mail-in ballots. It would also direct the U.S. attorney general to prioritize the investigation and prosecution of state election officials who allegedly issue ballots to ineligible voters. The executive order already faces lawsuits, including from a coalition of states that includes New Jersey. 

“Any effort by the executive branch to dictate or interfere with election administration through federal agencies is not just unlawful, it violates the fundamental principle of separation of powers,” Pou and the New Jersey Democrats wrote. “Against that backdrop, any effort to involve the United States Postal Service in carrying out this executive order—especially in ways that affect the handling, timing, or treatment of election mail—must be rejected.”

Trump has claimed, without evidence, that mail-in voting allows for widespread fraud, particularly against Republicans. If upheld, the executive order would require a significant reworking of New Jersey’s mail-in voting system. More than 670,000 New Jerseyans cast mail-in ballots in last year’s gubernatorial race, and more than 840,000 New Jerseyans did so in 2024, according to state data.