Court blocks Postal Service authority over mail voting

Source: This report is based on an official public release from California Attorney General's Office. PULSE organizes and summarizes public government communications. Read the original release →

A federal court halted the Trump administration's attempt to give the U.S. Postal Service authority over mail-in voting, ordering a two-week pause while it weighs whether to block the restrictions permanently.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Postal Service from implementing core parts of a rule tied to President Trump's March 31 executive order on elections.

Twenty-four state attorneys general and the governor of Pennsylvania filed suit on August 26 to challenge the Postal Service rule, which the agency adopted in compliance with the executive order. Separately, voting rights groups, including the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, filed similar challenges.

The rule requires states and local election officials to redesign and reprint ballot envelopes, enroll millions of voters with the Postal Service, and direct the service to reject ballots that do not meet the new specifications.

"Today, the district court blocked the rule, making it clear that President Trump must keep his hands off our elections," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.

States, not the federal government or the Postal Service, have constitutional authority to regulate elections, the attorneys general argued. Congress has never authorized the Postal Service to monitor or control mail ballots and has only taken action to expand voting by mail for military and overseas voters. Nearly one in three Americans voted by mail in the 2024 general election.

The Supreme Court allowed key portions of the March executive order to proceed on August 24, though justices said lower courts had acted prematurely. The Postal Service published its final rule on August 20, with implementation set for August 26—the same day the states filed suit.

This marks the second executive order on elections issued during Trump's second term. An earlier order on voter registration requirements has been largely blocked by courts.

The restraining order lasts 14 days while the court considers whether to issue a longer-term court order blocking the rule.