# Pa. to Trump: our mail ballot rules stand

> Pennsylvania's top election official says a federal push to restrict mail voting changes nothing about how the state runs its November election.
- Title: Pa. to Trump: our mail ballot rules stand · PhillyVoice
- Summary: Pennsylvania's top election official says a federal push to restrict mail voting changes nothing about how the state runs its November election…
- Keywords: elections, pennsylvania, mail voting, midterms, voting rights, news, local, Trump, mail, ballot, rules, stand
- Source: PhillyVoice — https://phillyvoice.com/pa-elections-chief-nothing-has-changed-following-trump-mail-ballot-order
- Published: 2026-09-13T01:10:56.496+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: elections, pennsylvania, mail voting, midterms, voting rights, news, local
## Nothing has changed
Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt says Pennsylvania's mail ballot laws are exactly what they were, despite the federal fight playing out over the method.

> nothing has changed about Pennsylvania's mail ballot voting laws
## Counties run the election
All 67 Pennsylvania counties prepare, proof, print and mail their own ballots. Ballots for overseas and military voters have already gone out.
## Two million vote by mail
Nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians used mail ballots in 2024, against 5 million who voted in person. It is a mainstream choice, not a fringe one.
## Trump targets the method he uses
Trump, who votes by mail himself, directed the U.S. Postal Service to restrict mail-in voting ahead of the midterms.
## Who actually sets the rules
Critics say the order reaches past the president's authority, taking power that belongs to the Constitution, Congress and the states.
## Paused, but not dead
A federal judge froze the order while litigation runs, leaving room for the Supreme Court to weigh in.
## USPS builds it anyway
A whistleblower said last week that the Postal Service is already developing the tools to comply with the order, blocked or not.
## Barcodes add nothing
Schmidt calls the proposed requirements, including unique barcodes on ballot envelopes, new and onerous with no gain for election integrity.

> add nothing to election integrity
## The noncitizen claim collapsed
Schmidt rebutted a Homeland Security claim of 14,000 noncitizens on the rolls, saying the agency never showed its methodology.
## Two cases, millions of ballots
Two noncitizens were charged over Pennsylvania's 2024 election. Votebeat reports such cases usually trace to software glitches or agency paperwork errors.
## No officers at the polls
Officials have floated troops or ICE at polling places. State code keeps officers 100 feet away unless they are voting, serving a warrant or stopping interference.

> my office expects everyone working in, voting in or observing polling places to follow the law
## A Republican Trump attacked
Schmidt, a Republican and former Philadelphia city commissioner, was attacked online by Trump after 2020 and later testified to Congress about the campaign's false fraud claims.
## Your two deadlines
Request a mail ballot at your county office by Oct. 27 and return it by 8 p.m. on Election Day. The state will post weekly updates and a ballot dashboard.
## Key takeaway

Pennsylvania's mail ballot rules are unchanged: request by Oct. 27, return by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3, and get your information from your county office.