White House weighed certified-mail-only ballots before its March mail-voting order, ProPublica reports

Political Guyentist · September 29, 20261 min read

The idea, which ProPublica says would have virtually shut down mail voting, was dropped after postal officials called it impossible to execute. The March order then put Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who has no formal oversight of the Postal Service, in charge.

What else ProPublica foundPostal officials were excluded from drafting the March order after they objected to the certified-mail plan.3 details

Postal officials were excluded from drafting the March order after they objected to the certified-mail plan.
Postal governors stayed quiet out of fear Trump would fire them; a board source said any action "might be its last action."
The Supreme Court has since blocked the order.

What we’re less sure of6 of 8 claims

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The White House weighed requiring mail ballots to be sent only by certified mail before issuing its March mail-voting order.
Explicitly attributed to ProPublica's reporting, and ProPublica is the only source in the list for the internal deliberation. The March order itself is confirmed as EO 14399, signed March 31, 2026, by the Federal Register and CRS IF13297.
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A certified-mail-only requirement would have effectively ended mail voting.
This is a sweeping characterization that the story does not assign to any source. Rate cards show certified mail cost about $6.33 per piece in 2026, which supports a cost burden, not the elimination of mail voting.
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The certified-mail idea was dropped after Postal Service objections.
This sentence draws a causal link without explicit attribution, though it appears to rest on ProPublica's reporting, which is the only source for it. The separately attributed bullet says postal officials objected, which supports the sequence but does not establish the cause.
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Postal officials were excluded from drafting the March order after they objected to the certified-mail plan.
Explicitly attributed to ProPublica, with no independent corroboration in the source list. The Senators' April 20 letter to the Board of Governors and PMG Steiner shows USPS involvement only after the order.
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Postal governors stayed quiet out of fear Trump would fire them; a board source said any action "might be its last action."
Explicitly attributed to ProPublica and an anonymous board source, which makes it single-sourced. For context, 39 U.S.C. § 202 lets governors be removed only for cause.
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The Supreme Court has since blocked the order.
Attributed to ProPublica's findings. SCOTUSblog, AP, the Brennan Center and FindLaw confirm the Sept. 14, 2026 unsigned order went against the administration, but that order denied a stay on the USPS rule injunctions rather than directly blocking the EO. On Aug. 24 the Court had instead stayed a low