Jonathan Smith is president of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), which represents more than 200,000 U.S. Postal Service employees and workers in the private-sector mailing industry. He began his postal career in 1988 and led the New York Metro Area Postal Union from 2012 until his election as APWU national president in 2025. He became an APWU representative in 1998 and served on the executive board of the New York City Central Labor Council. As local president, he oversaw the creation of the Josie McMillian Training and Conference Center. As national president, he oversees the union's departments and is editor of its magazine, The American Postal Worker.
DI has documented statements by Jonathan Smith on 2026 Midterm Elections and Voting Rights. Read the quotations, original sources and related cases below.
Role at the time: President of the American Postal Workers Union, which represents USPS clerks and other postal employees
Condemned
Statement summary
American Postal Workers Union President Jonathan Smith told Government Executive that the mail-in ballot executive order targets a problem that does not exist. He said it is meant to create chaos and put doubt in Americans' minds about voting by mail.
“It addresses a problem that does not exist
It’s to create chaos and put doubt in the American people's minds about voting by mail.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)USPS workers most impacted by mail-in ballot EO haven’t been trained yet, union warnsParagraphs quoting Smith on the executive order, about two-thirds of the way through the article dated September 10, 2026
Why we used this label
The reference point is implementing the mandatory USPS ballot-mail requirements for the 2026 election, under the executive order. Smith says the order addresses a problem that does not exist and is meant to create chaos and doubt about voting by mail. That rejects the order and the effort to carry it out, so we labeled it Condemned.
Trump's administration defends new USPS ballot-mail requirements as anti-fraud controls. Read the rule, challenges to its authority and the Supreme Court's September 14 decision leaving a temporary block in place.
