{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://krishnamoorthi.house.gov/media/press-releases/krishnamoorthi-budzinski-pappas-lead-97-members-demanding-usps-halt-trump", "Krishnamoorthi, Budzinski, Pappas Lead 97 Members Demanding USPS Halt Trump-Backed Mail Ballot Rule", "2026-09-04", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "IL", "Raja Krishnamoorthi", "K000391", "krishnamoorthi.house.gov", "krishnamoorthi", "https://krishnamoorthi.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), together with Representatives Nikki Budzinski (D-IL) and Chris Pappas (D-NH), today led 97 Members of Congress in demanding that Postmaster General David Steiner halt implementation of a new U.S. Postal Service rule carrying out President Donald Trump\u2019s executive order restricting mail ballot delivery. The lawmakers warned that the rule could throw the nation\u2019s election system into uncertainty and chaos just weeks before states begin sending mail-in ballots to millions of Americans. The rule would require USPS employees to cross-reference mail ballots against voter information supplied by states, effectively asking postal workers to act as election judges.\n\nIn their letter, the lawmakers wrote:\n\n\u201cThe evidence is clear: voting by mail is safe, effective, and helps to ensure everyone is able to execute their constitutional right to vote. USPS has played an essential role in elections for generations \u2013 and it is our fear that this final rule risks harming the democratic process and severely damaging USPS\u2019s relationship with the millions of Americans who rely on USPS to deliver ballots every election cycle.\u201d\n\nThe lawmakers pointed to USPS\u2019s longstanding record of successfully delivering election mail and the extremely low incidence of mail-voting fraud. During the 2024 election cycle, USPS delivered 99.22 million ballots, including ballots for servicemembers overseas, and delivered 99.88 percent of election mail within seven days. A 2025 Brookings Institution study cited in the letter found an average of just four cases of voter fraud for every 10 million mail-in votes cast.\n\nThe letter also raises serious questions about USPS\u2019s compliance with court orders governing the Trump Administration\u2019s mail-ballot policy. An anonymous whistleblower alleged that USPS resumed development of its Federal Ballot Mail Portal around July 29 while an injunction remained in effect and that work continued even after an August 27 temporary restraining order barred further preparatory steps. The lawmakers wrote that those allegations are difficult to square with USPS\u2019s representation that it would take no action to implement the rule while the injunctions remained in place.\n\nThe lawmakers wrote:\n\n\u201cThis rule is a solution in search of a problem. For these reasons, we respectfully ask that you halt the implementation of this final rule.\u201d\n\nKrishnamoorthi, Budzinski, Pappas, and their colleagues are demanding answers from Steiner by September 10, including whether USPS conducted a financial analysis of the rule, whether development of the Federal Ballot Mail Portal continued while court orders were in effect, whether USPS coordinated with the White House in developing the rule, how many postal employees would participate in ballot verification, and how USPS plans to handle ballots in states that have already printed envelopes that do not comply with the new requirements.", 1, "2026-09-08T09:24:24Z", "2026-09-08T09:26:10Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://krishnamoorthi.house.gov/media/press-releases/krishnamoorthi-budzinski-pappas-lead-97-members-demanding-usps-halt-trump"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5155100263655186, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}