VOTE is the Message on this Colorfl Sign by Mainer Lynn Beasley at the August 15, 2026, Protest at Monument Square, Portand.
Attorney General Aaron M. Frey today joined a coalition of 25 states in filing a lawsuit against the US Postal Service (USPS) challenging its new rule that purports to grant USPS the authority to regulate mail voting in elections according to a press release received early this afternon from the AG’s office.
Tens of millions of voters across the country rely on mail-in ballots and the coalition argues USPS ‘s rule will prevent states from effectively administering their mail voting programs, putting others at risk of being disenfranchised.
“USPS and the President are inflicting violence on free and fair elections through the unlawful attempt to control voting by mail,” said Attorney General Frey. “This is not hard: the Constitution does not trust the Executive Branch with the responsibility of facilitating elections and this new rule — this election inferference – must be stopped.”
On March 31, President Tump issued an Executive Order attempting to establish a national list of eligible voters and directing the US Postal Service to transmit mail ballots only to voters on the list. On August 21, USPS announced a new rule implementing the President’s demands that require states to register every voter who is eligible to vote by mail with USPS and tasking USPS with compiling the registered voters into state-specific lists. The rule also establishes new design requirements for the mail-in ballot envelopes created by states, which states are required to meet and get approved by USPS. Under the rule, USPS will not deliver ballots to voters who do not appear on the USPS-generated lists and will not deliver ballots in envelopes that fail to comply with the rule’s new standards.
Attorney General Frey and the coaltion argue the rule inflicts significant, irreparable harm on states by imposing burdensome mail voting requirements that risk disenfranchising eligible voters. With the start of the general election season mere weeks away, states must bear the cost of redesigning their mail ballot envelopes and securing USPS review and approval before they can even register mail voters with USPS. Within a matter of weeks and without any additional resources, state election offcials must also develop new systems to communicate makl voter lists to USPS to ensure that every eligible voter who is entitled to a mail ballot receives one. States must also create new guidance for election officials, train them on the new procedures and educate the public about the changes prior to the upcoming election.
Even if states were to meet the enormous administrative and financial burdens, the rle cold still result in elgible voters not receiving their ballots due to, for instance, administratie errors or flaws in the rushed and untested new procedures.
Over the past several decades, voting by mail has become more popular across the country. In the 2024 general election, 26% of overall votes were cast by mail. Since the inception of vote-by-mail, Congress has never exercised its authority to limit it and in fact, has only taken action to expand and protect mail voting for military and overseas voters. Congress has also never audthorized USPS to moitor or control the transmission of mail ballots.
The coalition argues that USPS’s rule violates the Constitution, which makes clear that states have the primary authority to administer elections and upends successful, longstanding vote-by-mail procedures. The lawsuit argues the rule is inconsistent with USPS’s governing statutes, ignores USPS’s procedural requirements, violates the Privacy Act and is inconsistent with federal votig rights law. The coalition asks the court to strike down the unlawful rule and issue a temporary restraining order preventing the rule from taking effect while the litigation proceeds.
The USPS rule is the latest attempt by President Trump to exert federal control over elections and seize states’ constitutional authority to administer election. In April, Attorney General Frey joined a coalition of 24 states in suing the Trump Admnisration to block its unlawfl Executive Order that prompted the creation of USPS’s rule