The Trump administration’s highly aggressive efforts to obtain state voter rolls has, at least so far, failed spectacularly, losing in 9 out of 9 court fights.

But as such federal efforts continue, there’s apparently a new twist on the broader gambit. The New York Times reported two weeks ago on a proposed rule, published in the Federal Register, that would allow the U.S. Postal Service to refuse to deliver mail ballots in states that fail to turn over voter rolls to the Trump administration.

As bizarre as this might sound, states apparently would compile lists of mail voters under the plan, with the expectation that USPS employees would use the lists to screen ballots for eligibility. Voters in the states that failed to meet the White House’s demands would be out of luck.

“Screening mail ballots for voter eligibility,” the Times added, “would amount to an unprecedented, and potentially unconstitutional, involvement of the federal government in the administration of elections.”

This week, ahead of Postmaster General David Steiner’s scheduled appearance before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, all 47 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus signed on to a joint letter calling on the Postal Service to abandon these plans, making the case that the proposed changes would “fundamentally upend” the role of the USPS, transforming it “into a federal election administration agency — with frightening authorities to disenfranchise Americans.”

Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan spearheaded the effort, and he pressed Steiner on the plans Wednesday. The postmaster general, a Donald Trump appointee, confirmed in his testimony that under Trump-imposed regulations, the U.S. Postal Service will not mail ballots if a state has not handed over its voting rolls.

“Yes or no,” Peters asked Steiner, “if a state refuses to turn their absentee voter list over to the federal government, will the Postal Service still mail their ballots under this proposal rule?”

The postmaster general replied, “Under our proposed regulation, no. We would tell the state that we need the manifest in order to, you know, look, what we’re asking for …”

At that point, the Michigan Democrat interrupted, since he had been given the information he as was looking for. “That’s the answer,” Peters said. “You’d tell [the states in question] no. So the proposed rule basically coerces states to conform to these new requirements and hand over their absentee voter rolls, or face the consequences of not being able to vote by mail. Some states, that’s all they do.”

The senator concluded that the proposed policy is simply “unacceptable,” and I’m hard-pressed to imagine how anyone would make a credible case to the contrary.

MS NOW reported ahead of the Senate hearing that Trump’s radical executive order that serves as the basis of the proposed Postal Service rules change is already facing legal challenges from states and voting rights groups.

Time will tell what becomes of the fight, but that it’s even possible the U.S. Postal Service would refuse to deliver ballots unless states comply with Trump’s unnecessary demands is breathtaking. Watch this space.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.

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From MS Now.