are new postal regulations tied to government surveillance...?

[struggle4progress]

8. "... our .. town does not have home mail delivery. Everyone .. gets a free PO box ..."

IMO they want you to establish that you qualify for a free PO box

I think you maybe misstated the ID requirements: See http://about.usps.com/forms/ps1093.pdf

It seems to me you can use your vehicle registration, voter registration, or home or vehicle insurance policy as the second ID, so I'd try any of those

I don't know if the Post Office initiated the change through rule-making in hopes of purging nonqualifying Group E boxholders or if there's a statute change behind your experience. But if you're still confused, go back to the Post Office and ask politely where you can find the regulation published. It's probably in the Domestic Mail Manual, and with a bit of work you can probably track down any relevant US Code references and Federal Register Notices from that.