READING, Pa. – The Berks County Board of Elections on Thursday discussed federal regulations regarding the U.S. Postal Service mail-in ballot final rule and the associated lawsuits.

Solicitor Cody L. Kauffman recounted that as part of a March 2026 presidential executive order, the USPS was directed to put certain criteria in place for mail-in and absentee ballots. 

“That provision has been subject to a great deal of litigation,” Kauffman said. “Part of that provision requires states to provide certain unredacted voter information to the USPS in order to effectuate the provision of the executive order.”

The USPS rule includes that “any state that intends to receive mail-in or absentee ballots from individual voters through the Postal Service must ensure that such individuals have been enrolled with the Postal Service for inclusion on the state’s Mail-In and Absentee Participation List.”

“Twenty-three states — Pennsylvania was one of them — did not provide the unredacted voter list to the federal government. And in fact, those states sued to block implementation of that portion of the executive order,” Kauffman said. “Since that litigation was filed, there have been numerous lawsuits and court decisions issued.”

“The final USPS rule itself is pretty long, but the general overview is that outbound federal ballot mailings that do not comply with the rule’s design standards or that are addressed to individuals not on the state’s mail-in and absentee ballot participation list as submitted to USPS will not be accepted for delivery,” Kauffman explained.

Kauffman went on to detail the numerous legal challenges to the final rule but added that a lot can still happen until the November election and that the legal staff will continue to monitor and update the board on any new decisions.

County Commissioner Chair Christian Y. Leinbach said he fears the country is sitting on the precipice of litigation that does not seem to have any end in sight.

“I am very concerned about what impact will be, and not on Democratic or Republicans or independents, but on any voters,” Leinbach said. “It’s problematic that litigation is becoming the norm in elections, and I don’t like it.”

Commissioner Dante Santoni Jr. said the reason for the orders and the litigation is an attempt to confuse people.

“We need to make it easier for people to vote,” Santoni said. “It’s fact that there is not any kind of nefarious thing going on with mail-in ballots. It’s just doesn’t happen. Any attempt to scare people is a threat to our democratic process. People should get their mail-in ballots when they get them, fill them out, mail them immediately or take them to a drop box.”

“Elections are run by local and state governments, not by the federal government, and we need to continue to fight,” he added.

During public comment, Zelda Yoder, the secretary of the Berks County Democratic Committee, said voters are confused, worried and angry.

“And in in most cases, they are looking for answers to the most fundamental questions like, ‘Will I get my ballot? Will my ballot be delivered, and will it be delivered back to election services on time?’” Yoder said.

“As you review the most recent litigation, it’s clear that you don’t control what happens at the federal and state level, but we do need to respond to it,” she said. “So please, I just ask that you focus on what you can do as an election board to try to assure voters that their vote will count. We work hard to increase voter turnout, despite the many attempts, particularly lately, to reduce it.”