June 13, 2026 8:30 a.m.

On Friday, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representatives Val Hoyle, Suzanne Bonamici, Andrea Salinas, Maxine Dexter, and Janelle Bynum, demanded that the U.S. Postal Service rescind its proposed rule that would limit mail-in voting to federally registered voters.

A release from Wyden claims the rule would require state elections officials in Oregon and other states with vote-by-mail to provide the federal government with detailed voter lists including names, addresses and unique barcodes for all individuals who vote by mail. Mail-in ballots would then only be provided to voters registered with the federal government. Wyden said this would pose clear federal overreach of all state’s constitutional right to manage their own electoral systems. If a state refuses to turn over its voter role the Postal Service would refuse to deliver mail-in ballots under the proposed rule.

In a letter to Postmaster General David Steiner, the lawmakers wrote, “The State of Oregon has relied entirely on mail=in voting since 1998. Our vote-by-mail system has proven itself, time and again, to be safe, secure, and reliable.” The lawmakers continued, “Despite claims by Donald Trump that mail-in voting leads to higher cases of voter fraud, states that use it experience fewer instances of voter fraud that any other system”.

The release said the delegation stressed that this requirement imposes logistical hurdles that would suppress voter turnout, especially in states like Oregon that conduct its elections entirely by mail.