Highlights
- USPS declared Thursday that mail-in voting restrictions tied to a Trump executive order are now in effect for November midterm elections.
- The rule bars USPS from sending mail-in ballots to anyone not on a federal voter list, a requirement multiple state officials say they will not follow.
- Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, one of 24 Democratic attorneys general who have sued, called the rule an unconstitutional federal intrusion into state-run elections.
- The Supreme Court has not ruled on the legality of the underlying executive order, meaning enforcement remains legally contested.
The U.S. Postal Service said Thursday that restrictions on mail-in voting for the November midterm elections are now in effect, stemming from a Trump executive order, even as legal challenges continue in federal court.
USPS posted the restrictions online as a final rule after blocks on the order were lifted by the Supreme Court and a federal judge. The rule bars the agency from sending mail-in ballots to people who are not on a federal list of voters. Multiple state officials have said in recent days that mail-in voting procedures are not changing, and opponents argue the rule cannot be enforced.
John Cusick, Assistant Counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, one of the groups challenging the order, said the rule hands USPS an unprecedented gatekeeping role in mail voting that exceeds its legal authority. He noted that the Supreme Court has not ruled on the legality of the executive order itself, and that the issuance of a final rule simply opens the door for legal challenges to proceed against that rule specifically.
"This attempt to inject chaos and doubt into our election system would harm the millions of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents who choose to vote by mail as they exercise their constitutional right to vote," Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a release. "The Constitution is crystal clear: states run their elections — not the postal service and not the President."
Arizona joined a coalition of more than 20 states in a lawsuit challenging the USPS rule, according to KTAR. Voting groups and 24 Democratic attorneys general have filed lawsuits arguing the federal government does not have authority over federal elections. USPS noted in a document that it is defending the legality of the rule but stated that restrictions would apply to federal ballots for the upcoming elections.
Legal proceedings in those cases are expected to advance in the coming weeks ahead of the November elections.
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- AZ Family (3TV/CBS5) retrieved 28/08/2026 02:22
- ktar.com retrieved 28/08/2026 02:22
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 28/08/2026 02:22. Every claim traces to a source.
