Ballot Mail For Federal Elections - Federal Register Final Rule - Postal Service

Sep 18, 2026

Postal Service amends the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual, to govern transmission of mail-in and absentee ballots for federal elections under its rulemaking authority. The final rule is effective August 21, 2026, and responds to an executive order emphasizing citizenship verification, integrity, and enforcement of federal law. The Postal Service reviews comments, outlines operation of the final rule, and addresses implementation timing and court injunction constraints.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages95

Reading Time3 h 59 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Overview of Comments

Comments in Support of the Rule

Comments in Opposition of the Rule

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 2026-08-26 and available online at [https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2026-17238](https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2026-17238), and on 7710-12 [https://govinfo.gov](https://govinfo.gov) POSTAL SERVICE 39 CFR Part 111 Ballot Mail For Federal Elections AGENCY: Postal Service. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The Postal Service is amending the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual, regarding the transmission of mail-in or absentee ballots for federal elections pursuant to its rulemaking authority. DATES: Effective August 21, 2026. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith Weidner,(202) 268-2950 or Drew Mitchum,(202) 779-2766. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background On March 31, 2026, the President issued Executive Order 14399, Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections, 91 Fed. Reg. 17125 (2026)(“Executive Order” or “Order”) . The Executive Order stresses the federal government’s“unavoidable duty under Article II of the Constitution of the United States to enforce [f]ederal law, which includes preventing violations of [f]ederal criminal law and maintaining public confidence in election outcomes.” Id. To these ends, the Order points out the need for additional measures concerning the use of the mail in order to facilitate enforcement of federal law, reduce the risk of fraud, and help protect the integrity of federal elections. Id. Following the issuance of the Order, the Postal Service engaged inan interagency review process through the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”), and subsequently issued a proposed rule regarding the preparation of ballot mail for federal elections to facilitate the enforcement of federal law and to implement best practices for Postal Service operations regarding ballot mail. Ballot Mail for Federal Elections, 91 Fed. Reg. 32915 (June 2, 2026) . Although exempt by 39 U.S.C. § 410(a) from the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) (5 U.S.C. § 553) regarding proposed rulemaking, the Postal Service invited public comment on the proposed revisions to Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (“DMM”), incorporated by reference in the Code of Federal Regulations, set forth in the proposed rule. The comment period closed on July 2, 2026. To ensure the faithful execution of federal law in connection with federal elections, this rule has an immediate effective date. Delaying the effective date would jeopardize implementation of this rule in time for the 2026 general election, which will be held on November 3, 2026. Given injunctions currently in place in State of California v. Trump, No. 26-cv-11581 (D. Mass. June 25, 2026), and League of Women Voters of Massachusetts v. Trump, No. 26-cv-11549 (D. Mass. Aug. 11, 2026), the Postal Service will not take actions to implement the rule specifically for the 2026 election unless and until the government obtains relief from those injunctions. If the government obtains timely relief from the injunctions, implementation immediately thereafter will provide election officials as much time as possible before the next election to comply with the rule’s preparation standards for Federal Ballot Mail envelopes, and to prepare to submit data to the Federal Ballot Mail Portal (“Portal”), before the mail-in and absentee ballots subject to this rule are mailed (which generally occurs in September or thereafter, as determined by state law) . The Portal will become active (along with the verification process that relies on Portal data) at the time of the publication of the system of records (“SOR”) governing the Portal. Publication of the SOR will occur on or after August 17, 2026 (pending the Postal Service’s separate consideration of the comments on that SOR proposal) . Finally, the terms “mail-in ballot” and “absentee ballot” are synonymous and in

FAQs

What is the Postal Service changing under 39 CFR Part 111?

The rule amends Mailing Standards in the Domestic Mail Manual regarding how mail-in and absentee ballots for federal elections are transmitted.

When does the final rule become effective?

The final rule is effective August 21, 2026.

How does the Postal Service handle implementation given existing court injunctions?

The Postal Service will not implement the rule for the 2026 election unless and until the government obtains relief from the referenced injunctions, to allow election officials time to comply and submit data to the Portal.

Sep 18, 2026

Uploaded by Riley West