Press Release: ICYMI: Gov. Evers Joins Coalition of Governors Calling for Immediate Withdrawal of Trump Administration Proposed Rule to Illegally Restrict Mail-In Ballots, Disenfranchise Voters 

State of Wisconsin sent this bulletin at 07/07/2026 11:29 AM CDT
Office of Governor Tony Evers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 7, 2026
Contact: GovPress@wisconsin.gov 
 
ICYMI: Gov. Evers Joins Coalition of Governors Calling for Immediate Withdrawal of Trump Administration Proposed Rule to Illegally Restrict Mail-In Ballots, Disenfranchise Voters 
Governors slam Trump Administration’s efforts to restrict mail-in ballots, asserting that the new rule is unconstitutional, violates federal law, and disenfranchises voters by illegally putting election administration in the hands of USPS and President Trump 
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers, alongside several other state governors, joined in calling for the immediate withdrawal of the Trump Administration’s latest efforts to undermine election integrity, increase federal oversight of state elections, and illegally disenfranchise voters by giving the United States Postal Service (USPS) the authority to withhold mail-in ballots unless states hand over private, personal voter data to the Trump Administration. The Trump Administration’s proposed rule builds on an executive order issued by President Donald J. Trump in March, key provisions of which were recently blocked by a federal judge who ruled that the USPS has no authority to regulate elections and that the president cannot decide who is eligible to vote. 

“Wisconsin has free, fair, and secure elections, and it’s thanks to the hard work of countless clerks, election officials, and poll workers across our state, because here in America, states run our elections, not the president and not the U.S. Postal Service,” said Gov. Evers. “Who Wisconsinites voted for is none of President Trump’s business, and the only reason he wants our private information is to try and prevent eligible Wisconsinites from casting their ballot and sow distrust in our fair and safe elections. Period. This rule would effectively disenfranchise eligible voters, preventing them from exercising their most basic fundamental right to cast their ballots. It would usurp state authority over election administration and, in the process, put private, sensitive, personal voter data at risk, and it would completely overwhelm our local election officials with unnecessary, burdensome requirements just months before an election and with no time to prepare.

“This rule is wholly unworkable, impractical, and above all, unlawful,” continued Gov. Evers. “It is a power grab by President Trump to try to assert illegal and unconstitutional control over our time-honored democratic institutions and control the outcomes of elections, and we will not stand for it. Wisconsin has free, fair, and secure elections, and we want to keep them that way. The single biggest threat to our democracy and our fair elections is President Trump. Simple as that. So, we’re going to fight this all the way.”

In the letter addressed to USPS Postmaster General David Steiner and USPS Product Classification Director Dale Kennedy by Gov. Evers and governors from across the nation, the governors outline the blatant illegality of the proposed rule, as well as the several negative impacts the new rule would have on voters and election workers if not immediately withdrawn, including:
  • Undermining state’s authority to ensure the integrity and efficiency of elections, which is not only delegated to states by the U.S. Constitution but also prevents nationwide fraud and election rigging;  
  • Disenfranchising voters who rely on mail-in balloting to exercise their fundamental right to vote by allowing USPS to establish compulsory specifications for election mail while maintaining unilateral power to refuse to deliver ballots if a state refuses to follow President Trump’s unlawful directives; 
  • Jeopardizing voters’ private, personal voting data by creating a single national database of millions of voters under the control of the president, with no plan to protect it;  
  • Needlessly complicating the voting process and burdening local election officials by requiring that a state’s Mail-in Absentee Participation List must be certified at least 30 days before federal Election Day or by the date on which mail-in or absentee ballots may begin to be mailed under state law, a requirement that will inevitably lead to voting information being outdated or incorrect by the time of the election;  
  • Requiring USPS to set up an entirely new system and database to control millions of absentee ballots just months prior to a general election—despite the recent federal court ruling that asserted USPS has no authority to regulate elections; and 
  • Requiring state and local election officials, who work months in advance of an election to update voter registration databases, program and test voting systems, print ballots and election materials, train poll workers, coordinate with vendors, and educate voters regarding important deadlines, to then implement the new USPS system on the ground on short notice.  
This latest attempt by the Trump Administration to undermine election integrity comes as President Trump and the Trump Administration have continuously spread disinformation about Trump’s election loss in 2020, including about Wisconsin’s elections, despite numerous lawsuits, audits, and investigations that have confirmed the accuracy and outcome of the election.  

Gov. Evers, over the course of his over seven years in office, has repeatedly worked to protect the voting rights of Wisconsinites and uphold democracy in the state. Earlier this year, Gov. Evers, in a Dane County Circuit Court filing, slammed court arguments made by a former election official and local officials that suggested absentee voting, which is used widely in Wisconsin and across the country, is a ’privilege’ and not a constitutional right. Also this year, Gov. Evers joined a multi-state lawsuit in response to President Trump’s executive order directing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to force states to use a nationwide list of voters provided by the Trump Administration, further suppressing the rights of voters, undermining democracy, and sowing distrust in Wisconsin’s fair, safe, and secure elections. 
 
An online version of this release is available here.
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