Judge blocks Postal Service mail ballot rules backed by Trump
A Washington judge said the proposal likely conflicted with a 2021 settlement requiring fast handling of election mail.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
A federal judge in Washington, DC, blocked proposed US Postal Service rules that would have tightened requirements for mail-in ballots ahead of the November midterm elections. District Judge Emmet Sullivan sided with the NAACP, finding the plan would likely conflict with a 2021 settlement over the handling of election mail, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters.
Sullivan granted the civil rights group’s request to enforce that settlement against the Postal Service. The ruling halts a proposal supported by President Donald Trump as his administration seeks new limits on mail voting.
The dispute centers on a rule the Postal Service proposed in May. Under the plan, states would have to submit lists of absentee and mail-in voters, and ballots that did not match those lists would be sent back, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported.
The proposal also set new design rules for ballot envelopes, including requirements for logos and barcode placement. If states did not follow those rules, the Postal Service could refuse to deliver the ballots.
Settlement over election mail
The NAACP argued that the proposed rule violated a 2021 legal settlement that required the Postal Service to use special measures to help ensure ballots arrive on time. Sullivan wrote that the agreement required the agency to prioritize monitoring and prompt delivery of election mail.
In his decision, Sullivan said the NAACP had made a plausible case that the proposed rule was already affecting current election preparations, and that the Postal Service had not disputed that point. The court’s order requires the agency to comply with the earlier settlement.
The decision comes less than five months before the November 3 midterm elections, which will determine control of both chambers of Congress. Al Jazeera and Reuters reported that Trump has said he fears a third impeachment if Democrats gain control of the legislature.
Trump has repeatedly promoted unfounded claims that US elections are vulnerable to vote rigging, including through mail-in voting and electronic voting machines, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters. Elections in the United States are run by state and local officials under the Constitution.
Part of wider voting fight
The Postal Service proposal followed a March executive order from Trump titled "Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections." The order directed the Department of Justice to act against states that the administration said failed to meet certain standards for mail-in ballots.
Trump also claimed that states accepting absentee or mail-in ballots after Election Day were violating the law. Lower courts have blocked the executive order, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported.
On Monday, the Supreme Court upheld a state law allowing mail-in ballots to be counted after Election Day if they were postmarked on or before that date. The ruling was another defeat for Trump’s voting agenda, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters.
Civil rights groups welcomed Sullivan’s ruling. Allison Zieve, director of Public Citizen Litigation Group, which represented the NAACP, said the court had recognized that the Postal Service plan was inconsistent with its duty to deliver election mail on time.
Zieve called the proposal unlawful and a threat to voters who depend on mailed ballots. Sam Spital, associate director-counsel of the Legal Defense Fund, which also represented the NAACP, said the ruling showed the Postal Service cannot disregard its legal obligation to deliver mail-in ballots promptly to all voters.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.