Colorado's vote-by-mail system works. A new federal rule could break it.

What it means for you

Here's what a new U.S. Postal service proposed rule could mean for you. Your ballot could be delayed or never arrive. Your name and ballot barcodes get shipped to a new federal database. If you're not on Washington's list, your ballot doesn't move through the mail.

What's happening

A March 2026 Trump executive order directed USPS to take a new role in federal elections. In early June, USPS released its proposal: every state would have to submit voter names and ballot envelope barcodes to a new federal database before each federal election. If your ballot isn't on the list, the post office won't deliver it, to you or from you. That puts USPS between you and your clerk. The Constitution puts states in charge of running elections, not federal mail carriers. I run elections for nearly half a million Coloradans, and I know a federal chokepoint when I see one.

Your turn

USPS has to accept public comments before this rule can move forward. Those comments become part of the official record. Comments can change a rule, narrow it or stop it. The deadline is July 2, 2026.

We've built one of the nation's strongest election systems in Colorado. Let's keep it. I've drafted a comment for you. Review it, modify it, add your name and send it in.

Read President Trump's Executive Order here.

Read the proposed rule here.