The United States Postal Service rejected mailed ballots from Leon County, Florida, because the words 'return service requested' were 0.236 inches from the return address, while the required distance was a quarter inch.
Posted by Letters from an American, Checked
- Sources
- 3 contradict2 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 70%
Letters from an AmericanSep 13, 2026
The 0.236-inch spacing and the quarter-inch requirement are well supported, but the sources say USPS rejected Leon County's envelope design on Sept. 2 before any ballots were mailed, and it was accepted on appeal, so 'rejected mailed ballots' overstates what happened.
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What was said
… We're not gonna do it." Trump's attempt to use the United States Postal Service to screen mail-in voting has recently had a test run. Yesterday, Jim Saxa of Democracy Docket picked up a story from Jeff Berleu of the Tallahassee Democrat to report that the United States Postal Service rejected mailed ballots from Leon County in Florida because the words "return service requested" were only 0.236 inches from the election office's return address. They were supposed to be a full quarter inch apart, so the delivery of those mail-in ballots came down to a federal complaint about a spacing issue of 14 thousandths of an inch. …
Letters from an American · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. The rejection concerned an envelope design submitted for USPS approval, not ballots already mailed, and the sources say it was accepted after Earley's office filed an appeal.[1][2][3]
Supports. Multiple sources report that the 'return service requested' line sat 0.236 inches from the return address, while USPS requirements called for a quarter inch.[1][2][3][4][5]
Context. Supervisor Mark Earley called the rejection 'ridiculous' and said the same envelopes had been used without incident in 2024 and the 2026 primary; the sources say he still planned to use them for about 32,000 ballots.[4][5]
Sources
5 sources: 5 not rated
- 1USPS Tries Rejecting Entire County's Ballot Over Spacing Issueyahoo.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 2In ominous sign, USPS initially rejected Florida county's mail ballot ...democracydocket.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 3His ballot envelope was rejected over 0.014 inches. What ...americaninvestigator.substack.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 4Mail-in ballot rules spark voter confusion. Where do things stand?charlotteobserver.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 5Mail in ballot rules spark voter confusion. Where do things stand?ca.news.yahoo.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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