Trump Pushes USPS to Mail Ballots Only to Verified Citizens

Aspen —Will your ballot count in November?

That is the question sitting on the table as the federal government tightens its grip on the mechanics of voting. The administration is pushing for the U.S. Postal Service to send mail ballots only to voters verified as U.S. citizens, a move that could reshape how neighbors in the valley receive their ballots.

President Donald Trump is leading the charge, citing a report from the Census Bureau that found 24,000 noncitizens voted illegally in 2020. The president shared the findings on Truth Social, framing the data as proof of a broken system.

To hear them tell it, the evidence is mounting. Lauren Bis, White House spokesperson, said evidence of noncitizens voting is continuing to “pile up.”

But the math holds up differently for election experts. They argue the Census report’s methodology is flawed, likely creating false positives when names were linked to wrong addresses or citizenship statuses hadn’t been updated in federal databases. Justin Levitt, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University, noted that details about error rates were missing from the report.

“This is an empty manila folder that the administration will wave around when it says the elections were fraudulent, noncitizens voted,” Levitt said.

The stakes go beyond a single statistic. The administration is also claiming, without providing specific evidence, that 250,000 noncitizens might be on the rolls in four states. Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of Homeland Security, sent a letter to California regarding the claim in July. For many officials on the ground, the numbers look inflated compared to historical data, which shows voting by noncitizens is extremely rare and punishable as a felony.

The tension is already visible in the states. In Maine, the Republican candidate for governor confirmed an audio recording where he said he plans to ask Trump’s border czar to send U.S. marshals and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to polling places. The goal, he said, is to ensure that only legal voters are casting ballots.

For folks in the valley, this isn’t just a national debate about federal overreach; it’s a logistical reality. If the Postal Service restricts mail ballot distribution based on citizenship verification, local election offices will have to adjust their mailing lists. The question is whether that verification process will be seamless or a source of friction on election day.

Critics argue the hyperfocus is setting the stage for legal challenges to outcomes that Republicans may not like during the midterms, where control of Congress is on the line. Alexandra Chandler, director of impact programs at the nonpartisan Democracy Project, warned against using these claims as a pretext for disruption.

“Throw out these deceitful, deceptive claims as an excuse for disruptions,” Chandler said. “You can deny the results later.”

The administration sees a crisis; opponents see a strategy. As November approaches, the focus shifts from who is eligible to vote to how those votes are counted and challenged.

Levitt left it at this: “This is an empty manila folder that the administration will wave around when it says the elections were fraudulent, noncitizens voted.”