Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is spearheading an effort to ensure that Alabama’s elections are secure and trustworthy.
Alabama is leading the charge to secure mail-in ballots. Our coalition urged USPS to finalize the rule to strengthen the security for mail-in and absentee ballots in federal elections.
Read more 🔽🔽🔽 pic.twitter.com/ebcaszJTzb
— Attorney General Steve Marshall (@AGSteveMarshall) July 6, 2026
Marshall filed a comment letter last week on behalf of 13 states in support of the U.S. Postal Service’s proposed rule strengthening mailing standards for the transmission of mail-in ballots for federal elections.
As argued in the letter, states have full constitutional authority and total control of ballots until they are mailed. Once ballots are transferred to the U.S. Postal Service, that chain of control disappears and becomes vulnerable to be exploited for fraud.
“States are the leaders in regulating elections, and yet despite our best efforts to enact policies to deter and detect fraud, voter fraud continues to be a problem,” Marshall said. “We appreciate the federal government lending a helping hand to shore up our elections and help states provide Americans with confidence in our system.”
Under the proposed rule, the Postal Service would standardize envelope design for mailed ballots and help states use a unique barcode to track ballots, thus significantly reducing the chain-of-custody problem that makes mail-in voting more susceptible to fraud. The rule would also create, for the first time, a standardized, nationwide auditing mechanism for mail-in voting.
“Let’s be clear, we run our elections well in Alabama, but this is still happening right here in our state, with multiple documented cases of absentee ballot fraud just in the past year,” Marshall continued. “And while we in Alabama can do all we can to secure our elections, Alabamians deserve to know that national elections held in other states are also secure since they affect us as well.”
Marshall announced the arrest of three Monroe County residents in February on charges of ballot harvesting and unlawful use of absentee ballots in the August 26, 2025, Frisco City municipal election.
The Alabama-led comment letter was joined by the attorneys general from Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas.
The letter concludes: “In short, we support the Service’s proposed rule in full. It addresses real vulnerabilities inherent in mail-in voting, responds to legitimate and widespread public concerns about federal election integrity, and equips states with tools that strengthen their own oversight capabilities without displacing their authority. We urge the Service to promptly finalize the rule.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee
