Democratic States Sue Again to Block Trump Mail Voting Order

Democratic-controlled states filed a new lawsuit Wednesday challenging President Donald Trump's executive order seeking to limit mail voting in this year's midterm elections, opening a new phase in litigation just two days after the Supreme Court ruled against Democrats in a separate case.

The lawsuit, filed by about two dozen states against the U.S. Postal Service, does not dispute the Supreme Court's finding that an earlier Democratic challenge was premature. Instead, it targets a new rule the Postal Service issued Friday night requiring states to obtain federal approval of their mail ballot envelope designs and to submit lists of voters eligible to receive ballots. Election officials warn the rule will be impossible to implement before the first wave of mail ballots goes out next week.

"Across the country, states are already deep into preparations for the 2026 elections," New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of 25 Democratic attorneys general behind the suit, said in a statement. "Now, at the last moment, the federal government is attempting to meddle in those preparations and potentially threaten countless Americans' right to vote. USPS has no authority to decide who can and cannot vote by mail."

Trump's order remains blocked under a separate injunction that the administration argues should be lifted following the Supreme Court's ruling. In Boston, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani found that the administration's rollout of the mail ballot rule violated a different injunction she had issued against the Postal Service, though she took no action against the government. That injunction was requested by the League of Women Voters and other voting rights groups.

Trump has long targeted mail voting, which he falsely blames for his 2020 election loss and which is used disproportionately by Democrats. He has pushed to claim greater authority over election administration, including a proposal that Republicans "take over" vote counting in Democratic areas, and has backed a broader election bill that has stalled in the Senate.