NJ, other states seek emergency halt to USPS vote-by-mail rule

Coalition says new voter-list and ballot-envelope rules could disrupt mail voting before the midterms.

New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and a coalition of 24 other states have sued the Trump administration to block what they described as an unlawful U.S. Postal Service rule granting the agency wide latitude to regulate vote-by-mail ballots in the upcoming election.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro also joined the lawsuit in his official capacity.

The lawsuit, filed Aug. 26 in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, argues that the USPS rule would require states to “implement new and burdensome procedures with just weeks to go before they begin sending mail ballots, putting voters at risk of being disenfranchised right before this year’s midterm elections.”

“Under our Constitution, states run elections — not the federal government, and definitely not the postal service,” Davenport said in a statement. “We are confident the courts will block this latest unconstitutional attempt by the Trump administration to interfere with the states’ administration of free and fair elections.”

The dispute stems from a March executive order from President Donald Trump that sought to establish a national list of eligible voters. The order also directed the postal service to create rules under which it would refuse to deliver mail-in ballots to voters not on a USPS-maintained list and establish new ballot mail design and tracking standards.

In June, a lower court ruled that major provisions of Trump’s order were unconstitutional and barred the USPS from completing the rulemaking directed by the order. But the U.S. Supreme Court stayed that order Aug. 24.

The USPS subsequently finalized a rule requiring states to register every voter eligible to vote by mail with the postal service and work with the agency to compile “state-specific lists of registered voters.”

The rule also establishes new design requirements for mail ballot envelopes that states would have to meet and get approved by the USPS. Under the rule, the postal service would not deliver ballots to voters who do not appear on its lists or ballots in envelopes that do not comply with the new standards.

Davenport and the coalition argue the requirements would inflict “significant, irreparable harm” on the states as the midterm elections approach.

The states would have to develop systems to provide voter lists to the USPS, create new guidance for election officials, train them on the procedures and educate the public about the changes, the coalition said. States would also have to redesign their mail ballot envelopes and obtain USPS approval.

Even if states met those “enormous administrative and financial burdens,” the “rushed and untested new procedures” could still leave eligible voters without ballots because of administrative errors, Davenport and the coalition argue.

The attorneys general contend the USPS rule violates the Constitution by intruding on states’ authority to administer elections. They also argue the rule exceeds the postal service’s statutory authority, violates the Privacy Act and conflicts with federal voting rights law.

In their Aug. 26 motion, the states asked the court for an immediate temporary restraining order and emergency stay preventing the USPS from implementing or enforcing the rule. They also requested expedited consideration of a preliminary injunction that would keep the rule blocked while the lawsuit proceeds.

The attorneys general wrote that immediate court intervention is necessary because states are already preparing for the November midterm elections and some state deadlines to begin mailing ballots arrive as early as Sept. 4.

In 2024, more than 840,000 New Jerseyans, or 19.5% of voters in that election, cast vote-by-mail ballots, according to Davenport’s office.

Voting by mail has grown more popular nationwide. Even Trump voted by mail in GOP primaries earlier this month.