A federal judge has blocked a proposed restriction on mail-in voting across the United States, dealing another blow to President Donald Trump's efforts to tighten election procedures.
Judge Emmet Sullivan rules against USPS plan
Judge Emmet Sullivan of the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that a US Postal Service (USPS) plan to deny ballot deliveries to states that do not turn over their voter rolls to the federal government should not proceed. The ruling marks the second time in recent weeks that Trump's plan to restrict mail-in voting has suffered a setback in court.
The decision bars the USPS from enforcing an executive order issued by Trump in March, which called for sweeping changes to election administration nationwide. Under the order, the USPS issued a proposed rule on 2 June requiring states to grant the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies access to voter lists and adopt new balloting procedures before the mail agency would deliver ballots. Non-compliant states would have faced refusal of ballot delivery.
NAACP challenges rule as violation of 2021 settlement
Sullivan, appointed by Democratic former President Bill Clinton, sided with the NAACP, which argued that the new rule violated a 2021 legal settlement requiring USPS to take “extraordinary measures” to ensure timely delivery of ballot mail. The NAACP had sued the USPS in 2020 after delayed mail threatened election access during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This ruling is a critical step in protecting the rights of voters who rely on the timely delivery of mail-in ballots to participate in our democracy,” said Anthony Ashton, senior associate general counsel at the NAACP. “The proposed USPS changes would have created unnecessary and unlawful barriers, in direct violation of the USPS’s mandate to prioritize election mail.”
Potential disproportionate impact on Black voters
Ashton added that the barriers could have disproportionately harmed Black voters, who are more likely to rely on mail voting due to longstanding inequities in access. “Put simply, the use of mail-in voting helps reduce voter intimidation at the polls and election day dirty tricks,” he said.
Allison Zieve, director of Public Citizen Litigation Group, praised the decision. “The court today correctly recognized that USPS’s plan to create roadblocks to mail-in voting was inconsistent with its commitment to timely deliver election mail. USPS’s plan was unwise, unlawful, and a threat to the millions of voters who rely on mailed ballots to participate in our democracy.”
Previous ruling and nationwide scope
The latest order follows a ruling last week by US District Judge Indira Talwani, who blocked the administration’s plan across 23 states and the District of Columbia, which had sued to stop the proposed rule. Sullivan’s order appears to extend the injunction nationwide, as it enforces an agreement binding the USPS until 2028.
The USPS was approached for comment but did not immediately respond.
