24 attorneys general, Pennsylvania governor sue USPS over mail voting rule

Supreme Court allowed Trump to begin implementing mail-in voting executive order

Twenty-four state attorneys general and Pennsylvania’s governor asked a federal court to block the U.S. Postal Service from enacting a new rule that would give the agency control over how mail-in ballots are handled ahead of November’s midterm elections.

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced her office had joined the suit in a written statement. Under the rule, states must hand over lists of every eligible voter to USPS and obtain federal pre-approval of ballot envelope designs.

“Across the country, states are already deep into preparations for the 2026 elections. Now, at the last moment, the federal government is attempting to meddle in those preparations and potentially threaten countless Americans’ right to vote,” James said in the statement.

“The USPS has no authority to decide who can and cannot vote by mail. 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,” James said.

Any ballot mailed to or from a voter missing from the federal list, or sent in an envelope USPS has not approved, could be rejected and not delivered, even if that voter is fully eligible and registered under state law, according to the press release issued by James’s office.

The lawsuit follows a Monday ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that allowed Trump to begin implementing the underlying executive order in many states and Washington, D.C. States now have weeks before November’s elections to compile the lists, redesign envelopes, obtain federal approval, and create new systems to transmit voter lists to USPS.

The Monday ruling allows the Department of Homeland Security to begin compiling state-specific lists of people it believes are eligible to vote in states that had challenged the executive order. The ruling did not address the legality of the rule itself.

“If the Postal Service’s final rule harms the states, they may challenge that rule,” the Supreme Court said in its Monday ruling.

If states and local election officials cannot comply in time, eligible voters will not receive their ballots, according to the press release issued by James’s office.

In July, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin threatened election officials with jail time over election security.

USPS processed nearly 100 million ballots during the 2024 general election, and about 30% of American voters voted by mail, according to figures cited in the press release.