EVERY MAIL BALLOT ENVELOPE WOULD GET A FEDERAL BARCODE. 23 STATES SUE

🚨 23 states, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania's governor have sued to block a finalized 95-page USPS rule on mail-ballot envelopes.

CNBC reports the suit landed Wednesday, two days after the Supreme Court temporarily allowed the underlying order to proceed.

The justices did not bless the policy. They lifted the earlier injunction because states had sued over a proposed rule rather than a final one. "Courts review final rules, not proposed rules," the court wrote, adding that whether the policy is legal is a question where "time will tell."

USPS has now finalized it. That gave the states the concrete target the court said was missing.

What the rule does: election officials would submit every mail voter's name and address to a new USPS portal, along with unique Intelligent Mail barcodes for the envelopes sent and returned. Envelope designs go to USPS for review. Postal employees scan outgoing ballot mail to confirm the barcodes appear in the federal portal. Mail that fails is refused and returned to officials to correct and resubmit.

The operational problem the states raise: envelopes have already been designed and purchased, and ballots are being prepared with the midterms less than 10 weeks away. Their complaint argues the rule exceeds USPS' statutory authority, violates the Voting Rights Act and intrudes on state power to run elections.

USPS says the rule improves ballot tracking, assists law enforcement and reduces fraud risk, and that it would not compare portal data against state voter rolls or judge anyone's eligibility.

Nothing changes immediately. A separate nationwide injunction already bars USPS from implementing the rule for Nov. 3.

Who should pay for new envelopes if the rule survives, the states or the Postal Service?

#usps #elections #uproar #causeanuproar