Democracy Docket: “President Donald Trump may soon attempt to absorb the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), an independent agency, into his administration by issuing an executive order that reportedly would dissolve the service’s leadership. The order could allow the Trump administration to make mail voting — which was used by tens of millions of voters last year — more difficult. Trump has repeatedly said he’d like to end the practice, falsely claiming it allows for widespread fraud. “Taking over the Postal Service just kind of opens up a whole Pandora’s box of mischief,” said Barbara Smith Warner, the executive director of National Vote at Home Institute, a nonprofit which works to increase voters’ access to and confidence in mail voting. “This is a way that the federal government could put a really big thumb on the scale and impact every state’s ability to run their own elections,” she added. The move will likely be swiftly challenged as a violation of the Constitution and the Postal Reorganization Act, an almost 55-year-old law that states: “The exercise of the power of the Postal Service shall be directed by a Board of Governors composed of 11 members.” However, if the executive order is upheld by courts — or if Trump ignores court orders against it — he would have immense power over mail delivery. Most importantly, it would give Trump and his political appointees direct control over the agency that handles mail ballots, which Republicans have revolted against and disparaged as a vehicle for election fraud since even before Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election…”