Two dozen states sue USPS over finalized mail-ballot rule after judge lifts block

The judge said it cannot stand following the Supreme Court's ruling given that they initially sued before USPS finalized its rule, despite "what chaos may be unleashed as litigation is pending."

attribution · Indira Talwani

"Let's be clear: the U.S. Constitution gives states the power to regulate elections — not the President and not USPS.

attribution · Rob Bonta

Ballots are an extension of our voices and we're asking the court to ensure that every person has the right to make theirs heard."

attribution · Rob Bonta

The new measure from the Postal Service implements the plans laid out in Mr. Trump's executive order, which he said are necessary to protect the integrity of U.S. elections.

attribution · Donald Trump

"In short, they must accomplish multiple Herculean tasks, each necessary to address the disruption caused by the Rule, in a matter of weeks, with limited resources," the states said.

attribution · plaintiff states

The Postal Service had said it would not apply the rule to the 2026 elections unless both injunctions against it were lifted.

attribution · U.S. Postal Service

"USPS has no such authority," the groups wrote, arguing that the rule gives the agency an "unprecedented gatekeeping role" in mail voting and intrudes on authority belonging to states and Congress.

attribution · voting-rights groups

"Courts review final rules, not proposed rules — and certainly not antecedent internal directives to propose a rule," the court wrote.

attribution · U.S. Supreme Court

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose state is among the plaintiffs, said in a post on X, Trump "does not run elections. States do."

attribution · Gavin Newsom

USPS says the rule would improve ballot tracking, assist law enforcement and reduce the risk of fraud while leaving decisions about voter eligibility to state election officials.

attribution · U.S. Postal Service

The agency says it would not compare information in the portal against state voter rolls or independently determine whether an individual is eligible to vote.

attribution · U.S. Postal Service

Newsom pledged California would continue challenging the administration's actions.

attribution · Gavin Newsom

While the voting rights groups that brought the lawsuit "have substantial arguments that might persuade the Supreme Court to reach a different result if Plaintiff Organizations have an opportunity to present them," Talwani wrote Wednesday, the judge said she was "compelled by the Supreme Court's ruling" to throw out her earlier ruling blocking the USPS policy.

attribution · Indira Talwani

USPS has said it will not take any steps to verify whether the voters whose information it receives are eligible to vote, though the agency will hold on to the information and submit a full list of approved voters to state election officials when the mail-in voting period ends.

attribution · U.S. Postal Service

"I'm suing the Trump Administration to stop their unconstitutional attempt to change the rules and restrict mail-in voting.

attribution · Josh Shapiro

I'll remind the President of my track record going up against him in court — and winning — to protect Pennsylvania's free, fair, safe, and secure elections.

I'm prepared to do so again," Shapiro wrote on X.

attribution · Josh Shapiro

"While Donald Trump may try to inject chaos into our elections, the Constitution is clear: the authority to set election rules belongs to the states — not the federal government."

attribution · Josh Shapiro

"Nothing about voting by mail has changed here in Pennsylvania.

You can still vote safely and securely by mail.

attribution · Josh Shapiro

"This Court held that 'no law enacted by Congress delegates authority to control mail-in voting to USPS,' and that the President's directives to USPS were ultra vires," the states wrote in their complaint.

attribution · plaintiff states

"The Supreme Court subsequently stayed the injunction — not because Plaintiff States' claims lacked merit, but because the States 'lacked standing to bring' their claims as to the [Executive Order].

attribution · plaintiff states

In Wednesday's suit, the Democratic states argued the new USPS rule "violates the Constitution and federal statutes many times over" and "inflicts significant, imminent, and irreparable harm" by "imposing new and burdensome mail voting requirements, enforced by USPS interception of non-conforming ballot mail, and doing so mere months before a nationwide election."

attribution · state attorneys general

"One need not look further than the White House to explain USPS's unprecedented and unlawful conduct. President Trump has long opposed mail voting, expressing that it would 'LEAD TO THE END OF OUR GREAT REPUBLICAN PARTY.' Since reassuming office, the President has aimed to—in his words— 'get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS,'" they wrote in the filing.

attribution · state attorneys general

"One need not look further than the White House to explain USPS's unprecedented and unlawful conduct. President Trump has long opposed mail voting, expressing that it would 'LEAD TO THE END OF OUR GREAT REPUBLICAN PARTY.' Since reassuming office, the President has aimed to—in his words— 'get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS,'" they wrote in the filing.

attribution · state attorneys general

"The rule introduces new mailpiece preparation requirements and data reporting standards for Federal Ballot Mail that must be satisfied prior to presenting Outbound Federal Ballot Mail for acceptance into the mailstream," the USPS rule, finalized this past Friday and published to the Federal Register Wednesday, states.

attribution · U.S. Postal Service

"The Rule requires States to enroll every eligible mail voter with USPS and tasks USPS with compiling them into State-specific lists. It further establishes design requirements for ballot mail envelopes, including the requirement to use trackable Intelligent Mail barcodes, and provides that USPS must pre-approve States' ballot envelope designs. When election officials send ballot mail to voters missing from a State's USPS list or use envelopes that do not comply with the new standards, USPS will not deliver those ballots," the states allege in the lawsuit.

attribution · state attorneys general

In a Wednesday press release, New York Attorney General Letitia James said that "the federal government is attempting to meddle in those preparations and potentially threaten countless Americans' right to vote."

attribution · Letitia James

"The USPS has no authority to decide who can and cannot vote by mail," James continued in her press release. "This new policy will just create confusion, unnecessary costs, and unacceptable risks for voters going into Election Day, and my office is going to court to stop it."

attribution · Letitia James