States sue to block Trump-backed USPS mail-ballot rule after Supreme Court setback

Two days after the Supreme Court temporarily allowed President Donald Trump's mail-in voting order to proceed on the grounds that states had sued too soon, Democratic-led states returned to court Wednesday — this time challenging the finalized U.S. Postal Service rule implementing it.

The new lawsuit, filed by 23 states, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, seeks to block requirements that election officials provide information on mail voters to USPS and use federally reviewed, uniquely barcoded ballot envelopes.

The Postal Service cannot implement the rule for the Nov. 3 midterm election because of a separate nationwide injunction that was not affected by Monday's Supreme Court decision.

"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," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. New York is one of the states that sued.

The new filing follows the path the Supreme Court laid out Monday. The justices lifted the earlier injunction because the states had challenged the executive order Trump issued in March before federal agencies finalized the policies it directed them to develop.

"Courts review final rules, not proposed rules — and certainly not antecedent internal directives to propose a rule," the court wrote.

The justices stressed their decision did not establish that Trump's order or the policies implementing it were legal. "On that score, time will tell," the majority wrote.

USPS has now finalized its 95-page rule, giving the states the concrete policy the Supreme Court said was previously missing.

The rule requires election officials to submit each mail voter's name and address to a new USPS portal, along with unique Intelligent Mail barcodes assigned to the envelopes used to send and return that voter's ballot.

Election officials would also have to submit their outgoing and return ballot-envelope designs to USPS for review.

Before accepting outgoing ballot mailings, postal employees would scan the envelopes to confirm their barcodes appear in the federal portal. Mailings that fail the verification process would not be accepted and would be returned to election officials to correct and resubmit.

The states argue the last-minute requirements could prevent eligible voters from receiving ballots because of administrative errors, technical failures or delays. Election officials have already designed and purchased envelopes and are preparing to send ballots for the midterms, which are less than 10 weeks away, they said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose state is among the plaintiffs, said in a post on X, Trump "does not run elections. States do." Newsom pledged California would continue challenging the administration's actions.

The coalition argues in its complaint that the rule exceeds USPS' statutory authority, violates the Voting Rights Act and intrudes on states' constitutional power to administer elections.

The states also contend that requiring them to identify mail voters to USPS violates federal privacy protections governing records of individuals' First Amendment activity.

USPS says the rule would improve ballot tracking, assist law enforcement and reduce the risk of fraud while leaving decisions about voter eligibility to state election officials. The agency says it would not compare information in the portal against state voter rolls or independently determine whether an individual is eligible to vote.

The new lawsuit does not immediately change the rule's status. USPS remains barred from implementing it for the November election under a separate nationwide injunction issued in a case brought by the League of Women Voters and other voting-rights groups.

USPS and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.