Cincinnati Rep. Ashley Bryant Bailey and three Ohio House Democrats are urging Secretary of State Frank LaRose to oppose a federal postal rule they say could disrupt mail ballot delivery.
The lawmakers sent a letter to LaRose on Sept. 9, warning that the U.S. Postal Service rule would impose new barcode, envelope design and voter-data upload requirements on county boards of elections ahead of the Nov. 3 general election. Under those requirements, a single noncompliant ballot in a bulk mailing of 10,000 could trigger rejection of the entire batch.
Bryant Bailey represents Ohio House District 26, which covers part of Norwood and Cincinnati's East Side. Reps. Allison Russo of Upper Arlington, Juanita Brent of Cleveland and Eric Synenberg of Beachwood co-signed the letter.
More than 800,000 Ohioans voted by mail in 2024, according to the letter. LaRose's office has reported a higher figure of roughly 1 million mail ballots returned that year. Ohio boards of elections are set to begin mailing ballots Oct. 6, less than a month away.
"Ohio election officials have worked continuously to ensure that voters can receive, cast and return their ballots on time," the representatives wrote. "They should not be forced to overhaul established election procedures weeks before Election Day because of a rushed federal mandate."
Where the rule stands
The rule grew out of Executive Order 14399, which President Donald Trump signed March 31. USPS finalized the rule Aug. 21, and it was published in the Federal Register on Aug. 26. It requires states to enroll mail-in voters on USPS-managed lists and meet new postal envelope standards, USA Today reported.
White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said the rule "was proposed months ago giving election officials ample time to prepare for the 2026 election," according to USA Today.
Whistleblower warning
The representatives cited a USPS whistleblower complaint filed with U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal around Aug. 31. The anonymous employee described the system built to carry out the rule as "secretive, rushed, chaotic, and fundamentally flawed," according to Votebeat.
The whistleblower warned that the system was built in weeks rather than the nine months to a year normally needed, ProPublica reported. USPS said in a statement to CBS News that it spent months developing the portal and that its work has been consistent with court orders.
Tammy Patrick, chief programs officer at the Election Center, told Politico on Aug. 30 that election officials are "just believing and hoping that the courts will step in and prevent this from happening because there's no way that they can do what is being asked of them."
What Ohio voters need to know
For now, nothing has changed for Ohio voters.
Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Director Anthony Perlatti said at a Sept. 4 briefing that the rules in place for the May election still apply, Ideastream reported.
Ohio's voter registration deadline is Oct. 5. Early in-person voting and absentee ballot mailing both begin Oct. 6 and run through Nov. 1. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 27 at 8:30 p.m., according to Signal Ohio.
No public response from LaRose's office to the Sept. 9 letter has been reported. The U.S. Supreme Court could rule on the administration's request to reinstate the USPS rule at any time.
