Disability Voting News: June 17, 2026

Sarah Blahovec

Sarah Blahovec

— 6 min read
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Disability Voting News: June 17, 2026

Welcome to the Accessible Voting Booth for June 17, 2026! 

Postal Service won’t deliver mail ballots for states that don’t hand over voter lists, under plan for Trump directive (via CNN).

On May 29, the U.S. Postal Service filed a proposed rule for mailing general election ballots that would require state election officials to provide a list of absentee/mail-in ballot voters to the USPS and would prohibit delivery of absentee/mail ballots to voters who are not on that list. The state would have up to the last day that states may mail ballots under state law to update the list. The bill would also create new design requirements for ballot envelopes, including the “placement of a uniquely serialized Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb) on each outbound and return ballot envelope.”

The USPS says that this rule was proposed to comply with Trump’s Executive Order 14399, “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.” Since this Executive Order was issued in March, 23 states and the District of Columbia have sued to stop the order; however, on May 28, a Trump-appointed judge denied a request to block the order, stating that because it had not yet been implemented, the plaintiffs could not show harm. On June 2, a federal judge heard arguments from the American Civil Liberties Union and lawyers from the states that have filed suit against the Executive Order claiming that it is unconstitutional for the president to set election rules and that the order burdens election officials.

The NAACP has now filed a motion in a lawsuit originally filed in 2020 against the USPS alleging that this new rule would violate the terms of a 2021 settlement agreement which requires the USPS to deliver election mail in a timely manner:

“In the Agreement, USPS made a judicially enforceable commitment to “prioritiz[e] . . . the timely delivery of Election Mail” for every national election through 2028. Exhibit A to Stipulation [hereinafter “Agreement”]. Consistent with this commitment, USPS has understood its obligations under the Agreement to require the timely delivery of Election Mail to all voters without exception and without regard to any administrative determination about a voter’s purported eligibility to receive or return a mail-in ballot. Now, as directed by an Executive Order issued by President Trump on March 31, 2026, see Exec. Order No. 14399, 91 Fed. Reg. 17125 (Mar. 31, 2026) [hereinafter “the Executive Order”], USPS plans to displace that understanding and USPS’s commitment, implementing a new gatekeeping function for the USPS’s universal timely delivery commitment that would violate the Agreement and federal law.”

The problem with this new USPS rule is clear: if it is allowed to take effect, states would be forced to hand over lists of voters to the federal government to continue to allow absentee/mail-in voting. The Executive Order also calls for the Department of Homeland Security to build a database of eligible voters off of citizenship lists, and the Department of Justice under Trump has sued 30 states to try to force them to turn over their non-public voter files. The concern for any of these lists is that the administration could use them to force voter roll purges based on Trump’s long-held assertion of widespread voter fraud, including noncitizen voting that has been proven to be exceptionally rare. In effect, these measures act as voter suppression by giving the federal government power to surveil and purge voters:

“This effort to consolidate millions of Americans’ confidential voter data in a master federal database is part of a larger illegal scheme to take over states’ constitutional roles and federalize election administration,” said Nikhel Sus, Chief Counsel at CREW. “The states’ responsibility for maintaining their voter rolls is enshrined in the Constitution and federal law, and we look forward to stopping this egregious overreach in court.”

On top of these concerns, there are logistical questions about compliance with the Executive Order. Many jurisdictions would have to redesign their ballot envelopes to comply with requirements for barcodes for tracking ballots, and they may not have the time or budgets to revamp those envelopes ahead of the 2026 General Election, especially in smaller, rural communities with more limited resources. The USPS would also need to create a portal for states to submit their voter lists and bar codes for each voter, and it is unclear whether they would be able to do this in time for the November election.

And of course, the largest concern is that if states can’t or won’t comply, or if they make mistakes, the USPS will simply refuse to deliver absentee/mail ballots, potentially disenfranchising voters across the country:

“As we read this draft, if a state does not comply with it, if they don’t provide the information or the right format, then the Postal Service is going to simply refuse all of those ballots or whatever election mail it is, and that is very, very concerning.”

- Brian Renfroe, President of the National Association of Letter Carriers

Public comments on the proposed USPS rule are being accepted until July 2, and lawsuits are ongoing, so the situation around access to absentee/mail ballots will continue to be a major concern as we get closer to the November General Election. As a permanent absentee voter in Virginia, this situation absolutely hits close to home, but I’m most concerned for voters with disabilities who absolutely rely on absentee/mail-in voting because it provides greater accessibility for them to participate in the voting process.

One such voter is Nick Papadopolous, a Georgia resident with cerebral palsy and witness in the ACLU’s lawsuit against Trump’s Executive Order, who wrote this important commentary on vote by mail: 

“The only time I voted in person, I had to first find a driver, either through a voting advocacy agency or by placing an advertisement and paying out of pocket. Then, my caregiver had to get me ready. Because I live in a rural area, finding care is not always easy. Before leaving home, I had to make sure that the polling place was wheelchair accessible and could accommodate my power chair and mobility constraints.
“As someone with cerebral palsy, voting in person is a difficult process. But participating in elections allows me to be part of my community, to express my identity as a human being, and feel whole. That’s why I rely on voting by mail. It is my lifeline to make my voice heard, express satisfaction or dissent, and remain part of a system that too often overlooks people like me. However, as politicians push new restrictions on mail-in voting across the country, millions of disabled voters are now at risk of losing one of the few accessible ways we can participate in democracy.”

Read Nick’s full commentary. 

Is Wisconsin violating the rights of disabled voters? Court hears arguments (via Wisconsin Public Radio).

On Monday, June 1, a Dane County judge heard arguments in Disability Rights Wisconsin and the League of Women Voters’ lawsuit against the Wisconsin Elections Commission arguing that voters with disabilities should be able to receive, fill out, and return an electronic absentee ballot. 

In this lawsuit, the plaintiffs argue that requiring voters with print disabilities to vote on a paper absentee ballot violates their right to a secret ballot as guaranteed by the Wisconsin Constitution, and that electronic absentee voting is a “reasonable accommodation” that Wisconsin is required to provide under the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, lawyers for the Wisconsin Elections Commission argue that “the ADA says nothing about privacy and independence in voting, and it doesn’t give voters with disabilities the right to vote without an assistant.” Additionally, the state argues that electronic voting presents security risks and poses “undue financial and administrative burden,” claiming it is not offered to anybody else in the state (untrue, as overseas and military voters can receive a ballot by email or fax in any election. However, they are not required to provide this option to voters with disabilities). 

One plaintiff in the lawsuit, Donald Natzke, who is blind and whose wife is also blind, would need to travel to a polling place to vote privately and independently, something that is difficult because “any amount of poor weather, be it wind, rain, ice or snow, makes getting to the polling place very dangerous.” If he could vote electronically, it would eliminate these barriers because he could use his own accessibility tools to mark his ballot at home privately and independently.

I will continue to follow this case for additional updates now that oral arguments have concluded. 

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