Appeals court narrows setback for Trump USPS mail-in ballot policy
The Hill · C · trust 53/100
Comments: by Sophie Brams - 07/18/26 12:18 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Sophie Brams - 07/18/26 12:18 PM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING A federal appeals court on Friday allowed the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to move forward with proposed changes to its mail-in ballot delivery procedures while legal challenges continue, but the Trump administration rule remains stalled under a separate court order.
A three-judge panel for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously halted a lower court order that blocked the Postal Service from restricting delivery of mail-in and absentee ballots that don’t provide eligible voter lists to the federal government.
The panel found that the Postal Service made a “strong showing that they will likely succeed” in their arguments that the proposed rule was “neither constitutionally nor prudentially ripe for review” and that it fell outside the scope of a settlement agreement previously reached with the NAACP.
The judges also ruled USPS demonstrated it would suffer “irreparable harm” if unable to finalize and implement the rule by the November midterms, writing that there “can be no do over” once the election occurs.
Postmaster General David Steiner confirmed earlier this month that the agency would not deliver mail-in ballots in states that refuse to hand over sensitive voter data to the Trump administration, telling lawmakers it was meant to ensure the “right ballots are going to the right people.”
The changes stem from a March executive order that directed USPS to propose a final rule by August 3 doing just that.
The NAACP sued in late June, arguing that the proposal violates a December 2021 settlement agreement that required the Postal Service to “prioritize monitoring and timely delivery of election mail” through the 2028 elections.
District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan agreed, finding earlier in July that Trump’s order was “designed to exert federal control over who in the United States may be sent a mail-in or absentee ballot in federal elections by the Postal Service.”
Friday’s appeals court ruling is a temporary victory for the Trump administration, which has sought to restrict a practice that President Trump and his allies often blame for voter fraud despite a lack of supporting evidence.
But the president’s executive order remains blocked in nearly two dozen states due to a Boston-based federal judge’s ruling late last month.
District Court Judge Indira Talwani found that the directive infringed on states’ constitutional authority to regulate the administration of elections and that efforts to remove individuals from voter rolls were unconstitutional.
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