US Postal Service pushes ahead with mail-voting rule despite court blocks

The US Postal Service prepared a final rule for publication late Friday that would impose new requirements on states to share voter information with the federal government ahead of November's midterm congressional elections. The rule is set to appear in the Federal Register next week, despite two federal court injunctions — issued in California and Massachusetts — that currently block it from taking effect.

In the text of the rule, USPS itself acknowledges that the injunctions bar it from proceeding with changes tied to an executive order Donald Trump signed in March. Under that order, the postal service would require states to grant the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies access to voter lists and to adopt new balloting procedures before ballots could be delivered. States that refuse would see USPS decline to deliver their mail ballots altogether.

The federal government has already sued 30 states plus Washington DC over their refusal to hand over voter lists. Despite the court orders, the Trump administration is continuing to press forward with plans that could disrupt mail-in voting.

According to the published text, USPS says it stands ready to implement the new restrictions immediately if the injunctions are lifted, giving election officials as much lead time as possible before ballots typically begin going out in September. The rule also references a forthcoming data-submission portal, which will become operational once a related system-of-records notice is published.

Nearly one in three Americans voted by mail in 2024. Trump, who has sought to curb mail voting, signed the March order barring USPS from delivering ballots to anyone not listed on a federal roll of citizens deemed eligible by the Department of Homeland Security. The USPS proposal would require states to supply the names and barcodes tied to mail ballots for federal elections; the agency says it received more than 200,000 public comments on the proposed change.

Trump himself cast a mail ballot in Florida's Republican primary this year — at least the third time he has voted by mail.