Federal Judge Halts USPS From Enforcing Trump’s Mail-In Ballot Order Nationwide
A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing a key part of President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at tightening oversight of mail-in voting, handing the administration another legal setback as it pushes election integrity reforms ahead of the 2026 midterms.
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled that the Postal Service cannot implement a proposed rule that would have required states to provide voter lists to the federal government before USPS would deliver mail-in ballots.
The nationwide injunction expands on a separate ruling issued last week by a federal judge in Massachusetts that blocked the policy in 23 states and the District of Columbia. Sullivan’s order now prevents the Postal Service from enforcing the rule anywhere in the country.
Trump’s executive order directed the Postal Service to transmit mail-in ballots only if states first certified lists of eligible mail voters and complied with other federal requirements designed to strengthen election security.
Sullivan concluded that the Postal Service’s proposed rule conflicts with a 2021 settlement agreement reached after litigation brought by the NAACP over mail delivery during the 2020 election.
“The Proposed Rule violates paragraph 2 of the Agreement because the Postal Service cannot post documents reflecting ‘practices and policies for prioritizing the monitoring and timely delivery of Election Mail’ if its policies provide that it will not accept ‘noncompliant mailing’ and therefore will not deliver mail-in or absentee ballots to some voters,” Sullivan wrote in his opinion.
The judge found that refusing to transport ballots from states that declined to provide voter lists would violate the Postal Service’s obligations under that settlement, which remains in effect through 2028.
The ruling marks the latest judicial obstacle facing the administration’s broader election integrity agenda.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani blocked separate portions of Trump’s March executive order, ruling that the administration could not move forward with plans to create a federal list of eligible voters or direct the Postal Service to enforce new nationwide mail-ballot eligibility standards in the states that challenged the order. Talwani wrote that the Constitution leaves voter eligibility and election administration primarily to the states, not the executive branch.
The Trump administration has argued the measures are intended to restore public confidence in elections by ensuring only eligible voters receive mail ballots.
“President Trump is committed to ensuring that Americans have full confidence in the administration of our elections,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson previously told Fox News Digital. “The President’s executive order lawfully protects our elections, and we are confident that we will ultimately prevail in its implementation.”
The administration’s proposal gained renewed attention after Postmaster General David Steiner testified that the Postal Service planned to refuse delivery of mail ballots from states that failed to provide the required voter information if the rule took effect.
Supporters of the executive order argue it is part of Trump’s longstanding effort to strengthen election safeguards following years of concerns about mail voting and voter roll accuracy. Opponents contend the federal government lacks authority to impose such requirements on states and have argued the proposal could interfere with established election procedures.
The Justice Department is expected to appeal the rulings as the administration continues defending the president’s election executive order in federal court.
