Tammy Baldwin

Wisconsin officials are urging the USPS to address mail delays and reverse a rule requiring states to share voter data.

The rule stems from a Trump administration executive order, which has since been blocked by a federal judge.

Officials worry the changes will cause further mail delays, preventing legally cast ballots from being counted.

Wisconsin's spring election saw widespread issues with mail timeliness, with hundreds of ballots arriving too late.

MADISON - Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Gov. Tony Evers are urging the United States Postal Service to address mail delays and reverse course on implementing a federal rule to require states to hand over some voter information to the Trump administration or risk losing delivery of mail-in ballots.

The two Wisconsin officials sent a letter to Post Master General David Steiner and other U.S. Postal Service officials on July 23 arguing that the proposed changes are "threatening" the voting rights of Wisconsinites because of the executive order, which would likely cause further mail delays and the fact that ballots arriving late prevents them from being counted in the state.

Evers and Baldwin asked the Postal Service to fix any issues pertaining to spring election mail speed before Wisconsin's primary in August.

"USPS is rushing to implement President Trump's unconstitutional executive order that would, at best, significantly delay Wisconsinites' mailed ballots from reaching election officials and, at worst, allow the USPS to prevent a Wisconsin voter's fully legal, timely ballot from being counted at all," Baldwin and Evers wrote.

President Donald Trump's executive order, which reached a halt in court, would have tightened rules for mail-in voting and directed the Department of Homeland Security to compile a list to send to states of residents eligible to vote obtained from U.S. citizen records, nationalization records and other federal documents.

The order additionally required USPS to deliver ballots only to voters on the approved mail-in ballot list for each state, which they began to implement by issuing proposed rules for states to provide names and barcodes connected to each mail-in ballot.

The Department of Justice under the order would also prioritize investigating and prosecuting election officials who issue ballots to people deemed ineligible.

A federal judge in Boston blocked the order on June 25, arguing that Trump is attempting to interfere with the states' administration of federal elections. Under the U.S. Constitution, federal election administration is conducted by the individual states.

"Not only would this rule restrict restrict vote by mail, but if this rule is put in place for the upcoming elections, it will create significant timing and logistical hurdles for Wisconsin voters. It will add days or longer to the process of mailing a ballot," Baldwin and Evers wrote.

"Wisconsin's Spring Election demonstrated that the Postal Service is already struggling to deliver ballots on time. Adding days or more to travel time of a ballot will most certainly lead to USPS preventing more eligible voters from having their ballots counted in future elections through no fault of their own."

After last April's election, two-thirds of clerks across the state reported issues with mail timeliness, with hundreds of ballots delivered late. Milwaukee’s top official told the Journal Sentinel at the time that the city received an "unprecedented" number of mail-in ballots delivered the morning after the election, all of which were unable to be counted due to Wisconsin law.

Baldwin's and Evers' letter highlighted the disproportionate impact these changes would have on rural residents and the importance of mail timeliness given that Wisconsin historically sees close elections, and that enacting these rules could "very well tip the scales."

They also echoed the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission's request, which urged USPS in May to enact changes to ensure mail-in ballots are not entangled in mail delays, after a survey conducted by the WEC found widespread issues with mail speed.

"We hope you recognize that any delay in election mail can potentially deprive citizens of their fundamental right to vote," the commission wrote, and asked USPS officials to enact measures to ensure ballots are delivered in time to be cast and counted.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Clara Strecker can be reached at [email protected].