A major US postal union has launched a national television advertising campaign promoting mail-in voting, entering a politically charged debate stoked by President Donald Trump's scepticism over postal ballots.
The 30-second ad, sponsored by the 200,000-member American Postal Workers Union (APWU), features a diverse group of voters explaining why they choose to vote by mail. It began airing this week in Ohio, a state with historical significance as the location of the first mail ballots cast by Union Army soldiers during the Civil War.
The campaign comes two weeks after President Trump signed an executive order aiming to establish a nationwide list of verified eligible voters and prevent postal workers from sending absentee ballots to those not on state-approved rosters. The order has faced lawsuits and opposition from postal workers.
Jonathan Smith, APWU president, said the ad was produced before the executive order and is not a direct response. He stressed the union's desire to encourage mail voting and expressed concern about requiring postal workers to verify voter eligibility. 'It is not the job of the postal workers to verify voter eligibility. It is our job to move mail,' he said.
The National Rural Letter Carriers' Association warned that the order risks politicising the US Postal Service, stating it is 'not equipped or authorised to decide who is or is not entitled to vote'. A 2025 Brookings Institution report found mail voting fraud occurs in only about four cases per 10 million ballots.
