Earlier quoted context omitted.
The point is to authenticate residency, and while it’s not a great system, there also isn’t any better alternatives.
If all this was for is to ensure you live at an address then the local government can offer a number of solutions to that. If they want mail, they can simply mail you a unique qr code which you could then scan and complete the process entirely online. Or at a minimum bring physically to an office. A utility bill doesn't require proof of residency to get. Neither does a credit card statement. Infact if I were creative…
The USPS could function quite successfully as an ID system and a bank, were they allowed.