A nationwide television advertising effort defending mail-in voting has been launched by a major postal workers union, entering the heated political discussion surrounding absentee ballots that President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized.
The American Postal Workers Union, representing 200,000 members, announced Tuesday it will air a 30-second commercial showcasing different voters—including a working farmer and airline crew member—sharing their reasons for choosing mail ballots. The advertising blitz starts this week in Ohio, the state where Civil War soldiers first used mail voting in 1864, before expanding nationwide.
The commercial concludes with the statement: “Vote by mail — keep it, protect it, expand it.” This initiative follows Trump’s recent executive order aimed at establishing a national registry of verified voters and preventing postal employees from delivering absentee ballots to individuals not listed on state-approved rolls.
Legal challenges and resistance from postal worker organizations quickly emerged after the order. The National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association stated the USPS lacks the equipment and authority to determine voting eligibility, warning that such responsibilities could politicize a highly trusted government service. The group also expressed concerns about undermining public confidence in both mail delivery and electoral processes.
American Postal Workers president Jonathan Smith clarified that the television advertisement was created prior to Trump’s executive order, rather than as a reaction to it. Trump previously signed election-related orders last year that also targeted mail ballots by mandating Election Day return deadlines, despite over a dozen states permitting extended submission periods.
Smith emphasized the union’s goal of encouraging continued mail voting while voicing concerns about requiring postal employees to make voter eligibility determinations.
“It is our position that it is not the job of the postal workers to verify voter eligibility,” he said. “It is our job to move mail from one destination to the next.” He added: “We do not want to be politicized.”
Multiple legal challenges have already been filed against Trump’s newest election executive order, including lawsuits from Washington Democrats who contend that constitutional authority over election procedures belongs to states and Congress, not the presidency.
Despite having used mail voting himself as recently as last month, Trump has consistently attacked the practice as fraudulent and is pushing congressional action to restrict it through comprehensive legislation. Mail voting existed for over a century and gained steady acceptance in states led by both parties until 2020, when Trump began targeting the method with unsubstantiated fraud allegations. Republican support has since declined.
Research published by the Brookings Institution in 2025 documented mail voting fraud in only a minuscule percentage of total absentee ballots—approximately four instances per 10 million mail votes cast.
The television campaign targets voters directly rather than addressing the president.
“Our message is to America: Vote by mail is efficient, it’s safe, and it’s successful. Period,” Smith said. “This is educating the American people that you can use vote by mail and you can be guaranteed that your voice will be heard and your vote will be counted.”
