by Staff Report
HARTFORD, CT — A coalition of state governors, including CT Gov. Ned Lamont, has written a letter to U.S. Postmaster General David Steiner urging him to unequivocally reject President Donald Trump’s proposed amendment to the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service (USPS), which would put an end to mail-in and absentee voting methods.
In the letter, the governors of California, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin say that this proposal is an unconstitutional attempt to disenfranchise voters and usurp state authority over elections.
“A healthy democracy depends on elections that are secure and accessible, and our Constitution gave states—not Washington—primary authority over elections for a reason,” Lamont said. “This proposed rule isn’t designed to make our elections safer. Instead, it would hand control to the White House, make it harder for eligible voters to participate, and erode public trust in the process. The Postal Service was built to deliver mail, not gatekeep the ballot box, and Connecticut won’t stand for it.”
Trump’s proposed rule, issued through an elections executive order defeated in a federal court, would create a national voter list determined by the federal government, and prevent states from sending absentee or mail-in ballots to anyone not on the list. Though this order was brought down in the courts, the USPS is considering implementing the proposed amendment to their mailing standards, according to Lamont’s office.
A violation of the USPS mandates, federal law, and the U.S. Constitution, the proposed rule would transform the Postal Service into an election administrating body, the governors said. It would disenfranchise voters in states with Democratic and Republican leadership, ultimately removing a constitutional power of the states and giving it to Trump and his White House. There has been strong opposition from those representing rural states, where access to polling places is severely limited and many rely on mail-in voting, Lamont’s office said.
The governors’ letter outlines the following principles:
- States safeguard the integrity and efficiency of elections, for the benefit of our democracy: The Elections Clause of the Constitution expressly gives states the authority to oversee federal elections — a hugely important logistical challenge that states are uniquely prepared to address at a local level.
- The proposed rule would disenfranchise voters and usurp state authority: Trump’s proposed absentee voter master list is an unlawful and insecure process of maintaining voter rolls that is subject to the president’s arbitrary and often punitive whims, as well as errors due to outdated or incorrect data. If this rule is implemented, the White House will determine which American citizens get to vote,, risking the disenfranchisement of millions of voters.
- The proposed rule must be withdrawn immediately—many states cannot wait: The implementation of this rule, shortly before a general election, would interrupt months of planning, systems testing, materials preparation, poll worker training, and voter registration and education.