The U.S. Postal Service published a final rule on Friday that would tighten requirements for mail-in voting ahead of the November congressional elections, despite ongoing court orders blocking the changes from taking effect.
The 95-page regulation, finalized on August 21, would require state election officials to share with the Postal Service a list of voters eligible to receive mail-in ballots. Under the rule, USPS would then be authorized to block delivery of ballots to anyone not on the approved list, giving the federal agency unprecedented authority over the mail-in voting process.
USPS said in its filings that the rule was published so it could take immediate effect if courts lift the injunctions currently preventing its implementation. The move represents the latest escalation in President Trump’s long-running effort to restrict mail-in ballot access ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Court Injunctions Remain in Place
Multiple federal courts have blocked the administration’s broader executive order on mail-in voting, finding that it overstepped presidential authority over elections, which are constitutionally administered by states. A separate Supreme Court challenge is pending, though legal experts widely agree it is too late for any ruling to change how November’s elections will be administered.
The Postal Service itself acknowledged in court filings in July that it was running out of time to implement the changes before the midterms. Derek Muller, an elections specialist at the University of Notre Dame Law School, told reporters that “everyone agrees it’s not going to be implemented for 2026.”
States Push Back on Federal Overreach
Washington state lawmakers have been among the most vocal opponents of the proposed changes. The state’s vote-by-mail system, established in 2005, has allowed hundreds of thousands of votes to be accepted with proper postmarks even after Election Day in recent cycles. Washington’s Attorney General has filed suit to block the federal rule.
Critics argue that adopting sweeping changes so close to the November elections could cause logistical chaos and disenfranchise eligible voters. The rule would fundamentally alter the relationship between state election officials and the federal postal system, turning USPS into a gatekeeper for ballot delivery.
“States would retain full control over who would or would not be able to vote by mail in federal elections within each state,” the rule states, though opponents counter that requiring states to hand over voter data to a federal agency and face penalties for non-compliance amounts to coercion.
Trump has also pushed legislation in Congress to restrict mail voting, but those efforts have stalled. The administration’s executive order directing USPS to withhold mail ballots from non-compliant states represents the most aggressive attempt to federalize control over mail-in voting in modern American history. With the midterms less than three months away, the legal battle over who controls the mail ballot pipeline shows no sign of resolution.
Sources: Reuters; USA Today; Washington State Standard
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