MARYLAND - A federal judge has temporarily blocked a new U.S. Postal Service rule that would have imposed new requirements on state vote-by-mail systems ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown and a coalition of 25 states, including Delaware, secured a temporary restraining order from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, temporarily preventing the rule from taking effect.
The order blocks USPS from requiring states to obtain federal approval for ballot and return-envelope designs, register for a new USPS portal to track voter information and enter information for each of their state's voters into the system.
The court found that complying with the requirements before the November election was “practically impossible,” according to Brown's office.
States would need time to redesign and produce ballots, update election systems, train state and local election officials and upload large amounts of voter information to a new federal portal, the court found.
The court also determined the requirements created a significant risk of disenfranchisement. USPS did not provide states with a deadline for submitting ballot and envelope designs or guarantee how quickly it would approve them.
Many states had already ordered ballots, while some are required by state law to begin sending ballots to voters as early as next week, according to the court's findings.
“This is a critical first step in stopping an unlawful rule that would have imposed last-minute federal requirements on state mail voting systems and put eligible voters at risk of having their ballots delayed or rejected,” Brown said. “The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, and my Office will keep fighting until this unlawful attack is permanently blocked.”
The dispute stems from an executive order issued by President Trump on March 31 that attempted to establish a national list of eligible voters and directed USPS to transmit mail ballots only to voters included on that list.
On Aug. 21, USPS announced a rule implementing those requirements. Under the rule, states would be required to register every voter eligible to vote by mail with USPS, which would compile state-specific lists of registered voters.
The rule also established new design requirements for mail ballot envelopes that states would have to meet and receive approval for from USPS. Under the rule, USPS would not deliver ballots to voters who did not appear on the USPS-generated lists or ballots sent in envelopes that did not meet the new standards.
Brown joined the coalition of 25 states in filing a lawsuit Aug. 26 seeking to block the rule. The coalition is now seeking a preliminary injunction to keep the rule from taking effect while the lawsuit proceeds.
The states argue the rule imposes burdensome requirements that could disenfranchise eligible voters and disrupt longstanding vote-by-mail systems. The coalition also argues the rule violates federal statutes and the Constitution, which it says gives states primary authority over administering elections.
The lawsuit was co-led by the attorneys general of California, Massachusetts, Nevada and Washington. Brown was joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin, as well as the governor of Pennsylvania.
