2026-09-03T15:45:00-0400 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
华盛顿讯——随着美国邮政服务局针对邮寄选票的新规定相关法律诉讼持续推进，各州及地方选举官员对在11月选举前短短几周内就需落实相关要求面临的后勤障碍表达了担忧。
多个州的邮寄选票将于9月中旬寄送给选民，其中一个州的选票本周五就要寄出。如果该规定获准生效，选举官员几乎没有时间按照邮政服务局的要求做出调整。在威斯康星州，两个市镇的办事员已经寄出了选票，因为州法律允许他们在初选结果认证后即可寄出选票。
特朗普政府称，该规定对各州和地方“仅提出了适度的信息披露要求”，且“不会阻碍任何一名选民通过邮寄方式投票”。
但众多顶尖选举官员警告称，即便不是完全不可能，也很难满足新的要求，他们表示这将带来巨额财政成本并加剧资源紧张。
“归根结底，若要在2026年选举前落实这些要求，实质上不可能不造成大规模选民被剥夺选举权和选票延误的情况，”竞选法律中心投票权诉讼主管安娜·鲍德温告诉哥伦比亚广播公司新闻，“全美有1万个地方选区负责选举工作。如果说这项规定是对各州提出要求，那确实如此。但更重要的是，这项规定实际上是对每一个实际负责缺席投票具体流程的选区都提出了要求。”
各州对新流程的担忧已在这场持续法律诉讼中提交的引人注目的法庭文件中得以详细说明。纽约州一名官员表示，将选民添加到新门户系统需要州和地方雇员累计超过10年的工作量。加利福尼亚州一名官员则表示，根据邮政服务局的估算，扫描该州每位选民的个人选票大约需要43年时间，凸显了各州面临的巨大后勤障碍。
新规定的内容
这项新规定由邮政服务局于8月21日发布。一名负责审理由24个民主党领导的州和哥伦比亚特区提起的诉讼的联邦法官已暂时禁止该机构在11月3日选举前实施该措施的关键条款。法官英迪拉·塔尔瓦尼正在考虑是否为各州提供更长期的救济。
根据该规定，各州必须在邮寄选票信封上加入特定的设计元素，包括每位选民独有的条形码。州或地方选举官员还必须将特定的选民信息提交到在线门户系统，包括选民姓名、地址和条形码。这些选民将在邮政服务局注册，并被纳入各州专属的“邮寄和缺席投票参与名单”。
该规定要求邮政工作人员审查和核实各州及地方寄送给选民的选票邮件。邮政服务局表示，任何不符合要求的选票邮件“将不予受理并退回选举办公室”。
选举官员提交的法庭文件不仅凸显了遵守邮政服务局新规定的难度，也反映了各州选举程序和规则的差异——这体现了美国宪法规定各州负责确定选举的“时间、地点和方式”的原则。
“决定是否设立邮寄投票项目、何时宣布所有选民都有资格领取邮寄选票，或是仅向那些因生病或不在管辖范围内而需要缺席投票的人开放，这是各州已经明确的自主权，也是他们根据宪法拥有的权力，”鲍德温说，“其理念是州政府有权制定这些权力和法律，因为它们贴近选民，能够回应选民的诉求。”
除选举官员的担忧外，一名举报人还警告称邮政服务局的系统存在“潜在的灾难性问题”。这名举报人在提交给国会的披露文件中表示，邮政服务局的新邮寄选票门户“未经测试”，其开发“过于仓促”。这位匿名官员还警告称，邮政服务局的新验证流程可能导致大量邮寄选票无法送达。
纸张短缺与已印制信封问题
在提交给波士顿联邦法院的声明中，多个州的选举官员表示，为遵守选票设计要求，他们不得不废弃已经付费印制的信封。
夏威夷州首席选举官员斯科特·纳戈在一份文件中表示，该州将不得不丢弃选民用来寄回选票的信封，因为这些信封上印有针对该州四个县办事员的静态条形码。纳戈称，这些已经订购的退回信封花费了该州7.9万美元。
他还警告称，“在如此短的时间内，可能无法从美国本土将新订购的[此类]信封运抵夏威夷”。
科罗拉多州预计将在本次选举中向选民寄出超过400万张选票，该州的两家供应商表示，他们将不得不销毁合计130万个已印制的选票退回信封，因为这些信封没有个性化条形码。
科罗拉多州副选举主任希拉里·鲁迪在一份文件中表示，重新印制这些信封“将给科罗拉多州各县带来巨额成本，而且根据这一问题的严重程度以及供应商能否采购到足够的纸张，甚至可能无法完成”。
华盛顿州的供应商也对其能否重新印制选票信封以符合邮政服务局的设计规则泼了冷水。该州预计将在本次选举中向510万选民寄出选票。但华盛顿州选举总监斯图尔特·霍姆斯表示，该州各县用于印制选举材料的三家供应商中，有一家表示无法在8月27日后重新印制选票信封，另一家则表示完全没有能力印制新信封。
即便如此，该州估计重新印制所有选票信封将花费190万美元。
“这对华盛顿州的选举来说将是灾难性的，因为华盛顿州完全是一个邮寄投票州，该州不再有基础设施能够临时恢复线下投票，”霍姆斯说。
潜在的纸张问题也困扰着俄勒冈州重新印制信封的能力。
俄勒冈州选举主任黛娜·道森表示，该州的供应商“没有纸张库存”。“疫情后的纸张供应短缺意味着纸张供应商可能无法及时向我们的供应商提供所需纸张”以印制新信封。
但即便只是添加选票信封上要求的、针对每位选民的独特条形码，也给各州和各市政府带来了难题，选举官员表示。
在马萨诸塞州，州法律并未要求信封上包含邮政服务局强制要求的特定条形码，因此该州的351个市镇都需要获取新的计算机软件来生成和粘贴这些代码。马萨诸塞州选举部门负责人米歇尔·塔西纳里表示，对于那些不向选民大量邮寄选票的小型市镇来说，这样做成本高昂。
“要求这些市镇购买能够粘贴智能邮件条形码的设备，可能会耗尽它们的市政预算，”她在一份文件中说道。
在科罗拉多州，64个县中有14个不在邮寄选票上使用邮政服务局要求的条形码，而且该州大多数县都没有在退回信封上印制此类标记。
副选举主任鲁迪表示，采用独特条形码在一定程度上取决于人口规模：71%未使用条形码的县的活跃登记选民人数不足1万人。
“这些县通常仅雇用一名人员负责选举工作，往往手动打印选票、装信封并亲手邮寄选票，”她写道，“这些县很可能无法遵守智能邮件条形码的要求，进而无法遵守科罗拉多州要求他们向每位活跃选民邮寄选票的规定。”
在马里兰州，选民可以选择通过安全电子邮件链接在线获取选票，该州预计约有7.2万张选票将通过电子邮件发送并通过邮寄方式退回。这些选民要么自行打印退回信封，要么使用州政府提供的模板手写地址。但这些退回信封没有独特的条形码，马里兰州选举委员会“尚未找到实现这一要求的技术或人工方法”，该州选举政策助理副管理员梅利西亚·多西表示。
“因此，这项规定可能会剥夺所有通过安全电子邮件链接领取邮寄选票的选民的选举权，”她在一份声明中说道。
邮寄选票门户系统
邮政服务局的新规定要求州或地方选举官员在向选民邮寄选票前，将特定数据提交至“联邦选票邮寄门户”。首次领取邮寄选票的选民名单必须至少在选举前30天录入系统，不过各州可以添加、更改或删除门户系统中的数据，以应对新选民、新的邮寄选票申请或其他变更情况。
但州官员警告称，将其选民纳入门户系统的过程将非常耗时。
威斯康星州选举委员会主席、共和党人唐·米利斯表示，邮政服务局尚未发布如何使用该门户或如何授权用户的操作指南。他在一份文件中警告称，要确保威斯康星州的每位邮寄选民都通过该门户完成注册，将“几乎不可能”。
“从实际情况来看，考虑到这一体系的分散性，这并不可行。如果法官的临时禁令被解除，情况将变得极具挑战性，”他在谈及法官暂时阻止该规定实施的命令时告诉哥伦比亚广播公司新闻。
他表示，威斯康星州的选举工作由1850名市镇办事员负责，超过2500名员工可以在该州的选民登记系统中更改选民记录。因此，这2500名工作人员需要接受该门户系统的使用培训、获得访问权限，然后在9月17日前录入选民数据——根据州法律，办事员必须在这一天前寄出邮寄选票。
“我认为，采取一切措施防止非公民投票是好事，但我认为许多国家层面的共和党人对邮寄选票存在错误认知，”他说，“这已经不是全国层面的共和党人第一次搬起石头砸自己的脚了。”
纽约州选举委员会联合执行主任克里斯汀·泽布罗斯基·斯塔维斯基估计，为每位选民添加到邮政服务局名单并解决相关问题，每人大约需要额外一分钟时间。她说，在该州58个地方选举委员会中，这相当于额外需要2万小时的工作量，也就是533个工作周。
明尼苏达州选举总监保罗·林内尔表示，选举工作人员完成门户系统授权用户注册并录入选民信息大约需要8500小时。林内尔表示，条形码信息并未包含在该州的选民登记系统中，需要手动添加到新的联邦门户系统中。
“即便假设每份数据的验证、录入和提交流程仅需一分钟，这也将占用大量工作人员时间，而这些时间本应用于其他关键活动，”他说。
另一方面，邮政服务局估计，邮政工作人员扫描一张选票的条形码耗时不到一分钟，因此大规模邮寄选票的验证过程“最多只需几个小时”。
但各州表示，按照这一时间框架，如果加利福尼亚州的2300万登记选民全部通过邮寄方式投票，邮政服务局扫描所有选票将需要43年时间。根据州务卿的数据，2024年大选期间，该州共寄出了1600万张邮寄选票。
玛德琳·梅对本文亦有贡献。
Election officials raise alarm over implementing new mail voting rules before midterms: “Virtually impossible”
2026-09-03T15:45:00-0400 / CBS News
Washington — As legal battles over the U.S. Postal Service’s new regulations for mail ballots move forward, state and local election officials are raising concerns about the logistical hurdles they will have to surmount to implement the requirements just weeks before the November elections.
Mail ballots will go out to voters in several states in mid-September — and by Friday in one — leaving election officials with little time to make the changes that the Postal Service is calling for, if the rule is allowed to take effect. In Wisconsin, clerks in two municipalities have already sent out ballots, since state law allows them to do so as soon as the results of the primaries are certified.
The Trump administration has said the rule imposes “modest informational requirements” on states and localities, and “should not prevent a single voter from voting by mail.”
But numerous top election officials are warning that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to satisfy the new requirements, saying they would impose significant financial costs and strain resources.
“The bottom line is that it is effectively impossible for these requirements to be implemented in advance of 2026 without causing mass disenfranchisement and ballot delays,” Anna Baldwin, director of voting rights litigation at the Campaign Legal Center, told CBS News. “There are 10,000 local jurisdictions in the country that administer elections. When we think about this as a rule imposing requirements on the states, that’s true. But more importantly, it’s a rule that imposes requirements on every jurisdiction that actually does the mechanics of absentee balloting.”
The states’ concerns over the new processes have been detailed in remarkable court filings in the ongoing legal battle. One official in New York said that adding voters to a new portal would require more than 10 years’ worth of cumulative work by state and local employees. Another from California said that based on Postal Service estimates, scanning individual ballots for every voter in the state would take roughly 43 years, underscoring the huge logistical hurdles that states are facing.
What the new rule does
The new rule was published by the Postal Service on Aug. 21. A federal judge overseeing a lawsuit brought by 24 states led by Democrats and the District of Columbia has temporarily barred the agency from implementing key aspects of the measure for the Nov. 3 elections. The judge, Indira Talwani, is considering whether to grant the states longer-term relief.
Under the rule, states must include specific design elements on mail ballot envelopes, including barcodes that are unique to each voter. State or local election officials must also submit certain voter information into an online portal, including their names, addresses and barcodes. Those voters will be enrolled with the Postal Service and included on state-specific “Mail-In and Absentee Participation Lists.”
The rule requires postal workers to review and verify ballot mail being sent to voters by states and localities. Any ballot mailings that don’t comply with the requirements “will not be accepted and will be returned” to the election offices, the Postal Service said.
The court submissions from election officials highlight not only the difficulties with adhering to the Postal Service’s new regulations, but also the varying procedures and rules that govern each state’s elections, a reflection of the Constitution’s command that states are responsible for setting the “times, places and manner” of elections.
“Deciding whether to have a mail voting program, when to say everybody’s eligible to receive a mail ballot or only some people who have an absentee excuse who are sick or out of the jurisdiction, that is the variability that states have defined and it’s their power to do that under the Constitution,” Baldwin said. “The idea is that state governments get to create those powers and those laws because they’re in touch with their voters and they’re responsive to their constituents.”
Separate from the concerns of election officials, a whistleblower has warned of “potentially catastrophic problems” with the Postal Service’s system. The agency’s new mail ballot portal is “untested” and its development “rushed,” the whistleblower said in a disclosure provided to Congress. The anonymous official also warned that the Postal Service’s new verification process could keep significant numbers of mail ballots from being delivered.
Paper shortages and already-printed envelopes
In declarations submitted to the federal court in Boston, numerous election officials from different states said that in order to adhere to the ballot design requirements, they would have to scrap envelopes that have already been paid for and printed.
Scott Nago, Hawaii’s chief election officer, said in a filing that the state would have to throw out the envelopes used by voters to return their ballots, since they were printed with a static barcode for each of its four county clerks. Those already-ordered return envelopes cost the state $79,000, Nago said.
He also warned that “it may not be possible to get new orders of [those] envelopes delivered to Hawaii from the continent on such short notice.”
In Colorado, which expects to mail more than 4 million ballots to voters for the upcoming election, two of its vendors have said that they would have to get rid of a combined 1.3 million already-printed ballot return envelopes because they don’t contain individualized barcodes.
Reprinting those envelopes “would impose significant costs on Colorado counties and may not even be possible depending on how widespread an issue this is and whether the vendors can procure sufficient paper,” Hilary Rudy, the deputy state elections director, said in a filing.
Vendors for Washington state have also poured cold water on their ability to reprint ballot envelopes to meet the Postal Service’s design rules. The state anticipates sending ballots to 5.1 million voters for the upcoming election. But one of three vendors used by Washington counties to print election materials indicated it couldn’t reprint ballot envelopes after Aug. 27, while a second indicated it didn’t have the capacity to print new envelopes at all, Director of Elections Stuart Holmes said.
Even still, the state estimates reprinting all ballot envelopes would cost $1.9 million.
“This would be catastrophic for Washington elections because Washington is an entirely vote-by-mail state and the State no longer has the infrastructure to accommodate a last-minute reversion to in-person voting,” Holmes said.
Potential paper issues are also plaguing Oregon’s ability to reprint envelopes.
The state’s vendors “do not have a stockpile of paper,” said Oregon Elections Director Dena Dawson. “Post-pandemic paper supply shortages mean that paper suppliers may not be able to timely supply our vendors with the paper they need” to provide new envelopes.
But even adding the unique, voter-specific barcodes required on ballot envelopes presents issues for states and municipalities, election officials said.
In Massachusetts, state law does not require envelopes to include the specific barcodes mandated by the Postal Service, so its 351 municipalities would have to obtain new computer software to create and apply the codes. Doing so would be a costly endeavor for some of Massachusetts’ smaller municipalities who don’t mail large numbers of ballots to voters, said Michelle Tassinari, who leads Massachusetts’ elections division.
“To require these municipalities to purchase equipment capable of applying an Intelligent Mail barcode would likely deplete their municipal budgets,” she said in a filing.
In Colorado, 14 of its 64 counties do not use the barcodes required by the Postal Service on ballot mail, and most of its counties do not include those markings on return envelopes.
Adopting the unique barcodes depends in part on population size, Rudy, the deputy state elections director said: 71% of the counties that do not use the barcodes have a population of less than 10,000 active registered voters.
“These counties typically employ a single individual to administer elections and often manually print ballots, stuff envelopes, and mail ballots by hand,” she wrote. “These counties likely would be unable to comply with the IMb requirement, and by extension, Colorado’s requirement that they mail a ballot to every active voter.”
In Maryland, voters can opt to access their ballot online through a secure email link, and the state expects roughly 72,000 ballots will be delivered by email and returned through the mail. Those voters either print the return envelope or hand address it using a state-provided template. But these return envelopes don’t have unique barcodes, and the Maryland State Board of Elections “has not identified a technical or manual way to do this,” said Melissia Dorsey, the state’s assistant deputy administrator for election policy.
“As a result, this rule potentially disenfranchises all mail-in voters who are signed up to receive mail-in ballots via secure email link,” she said in a declaration.
The mail ballot portal
The Postal Service’s new regulations require state or local elections officials to submit specific data to the “Federal Ballot Mail Portal” before mail ballots can be sent to voters. Initial lists of voters who will receive mail ballots must be entered at least 30 days before the election, though states can add, change or remove data from the portal to account for new voters, new requests for mail ballots or other changes.
But state officials warned that the process of enrolling their voters into the portal will be time intensive.
Don Millis, a Republican who chairs the Wisconsin Election Commission, said the Postal Service has not issued instructions on how to use the portal or how to authorize users. He warned in a filing that it would be “virtually impossible” to ensure that each mail voter in Wisconsin is enrolled through the portal.
“As a practical matter it’s not feasible given the decentralized nature of this. It’s going to be a very challenging environment if the stay is lifted,” he told CBS News, referring to the judge’s order temporarily blocking the rule.
Wisconsin’s elections are administered by 1,850 municipal clerks, and more than 2,500 employees can make changes to voter records on the state’s voter registration system, he said. As a result, those 2,500 workers would need to be trained on how to use the portal, be granted access to it and then enter voters’ data before Sept. 17, when clerks are required under state law to send out mail ballots.
“I think it’s good to do what you can to prevent noncitizens from voting, but I think many people at the national level have this incorrect view of mail-in ballots,” he said. “It’s not the first time that Republicans at the national level have shot themselves in the foot.”
New York’s co-executive director of the state Board of Elections, Kristen Zebrowski Stavisky, estimated that it will take roughly an additional minute per voter to include them on the Postal Service’s list and address any issues. Across the state’s 58 local boards of elections, she said that amounts to 20,000 additional hours of effort, or 533 work weeks.
Paul Linnell, Minnesota’s elections director, said it will take roughly 8,500 hours for elections staff to become authorized users of the portal and enroll voters. Linnell said barcode information is not included in the state’s voter registration system and will need to be added manually to the new federal portal.
“Even assuming the data verification, entry, and submission process takes only 1 minute per voter, this adds up to a significant amount of staff time that must be diverted from other critical activities,” he said.
On its end, the Postal Service has estimated it should take mail workers less than a minute to scan a ballot’s barcode, so the verification process for large mailings should take “no more than a few hours.”
But the states said that under that time frame, it would take the Postal Service 43 years to scan mail ballots from all of California’s 23 million registered voters, if they all cast their ballots by mail. For the 2024 general election, 16 million mail ballots were cast, according to data from the secretary of state.
Madeleine May contributed to this report.