USPS approves North Carolina’s mail ballot design on eve of sending them to voters

The U.S. Postal Service signed off on North Carolina’s mail ballot design, making it one of the first states to be approved under a new Trump administration plan that would restrict voting by mail.

North Carolina, which under state law must send mail ballots to voters beginning Friday, voluntarily submitted its envelope designs to USPS review even as two dozen states – including North Carolina – fight President Donald Trump’s mail voting order in court.

“We believe that we are well positioned, as our envelopes have already been approved by the Postal Service,” Sam Hayes, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, told reporters Thursday. 

“We will follow the law. We’re watching to see what the courts do. If anything changes, we’ll be in compliance,” Hayes said.

Until now, USPS has had no role in deciding which mail ballots are delivered to voters. But under Trump’s executive order, the postal service would have discretion to block ballots from being sent to voters if states don’t comply with new criteria, including an  individualized barcode system. 

After a Justice Department attorney representing the government repeatedly failed to answer questions about how the Postal Service will implement the new mail voting rules, USPS filed a declaration saying – for now – it will review states’ ballot envelope designs on a voluntary basis.