Twelve Republican state attorneys general filed an appeal on Thursday to challenge a court order that blocked the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from implementing new mail-in voting requirements. The legal action seeks to revive a plan released in response to an executive order by President Trump that would apply to federal elections, including the 2028 presidential race. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols previously issued a preliminary injunction against the rule, finding the Postal Service likely lacked the legal authority to impose such mandates on the states.
The case stems from a USPS rule released in late August. The rule sought to require states to provide the Postal Service with lists of voter names and addresses before ballots could be delivered. In September, Nichols blocked the plan, ruling that no federal statute granted the agency the power to issue these specific requirements. While the Supreme Court earlier declined to pause a similar injunction for the recent midterm elections, the current appeal focuses on the application of the rule for future federal contests.
Attorneys general from Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Texas are participating in the appeal. The group argues that the Postal Service should be allowed to proceed with the revised ballot mail rule. However, the leadership of the legal challenge may change in January when Democratic attorneys general-elect are scheduled to take office in Kansas and Texas. The Department of Justice declined to comment on whether the federal government would file its own notice of appeal by the Friday deadline.
For the individual voter, this policy could change the experience of participating in an election. If the rule were implemented and states failed to meet the new requirements, critics and election officials have expressed concern that voters might notice delays in receiving their ballots or not receive them at all. Groups cited by critics of the rule, including voters with disabilities and those living in areas without physical polling sites, could be affected if their access to the mail-in system were interrupted. A whistleblower report previously claimed that the online system intended to manage these requirements had not been properly tested, creating potential technical barriers to ballot delivery.
The legal precedent set by this case will define the boundaries of federal agency power over state-run elections. Nichols stated the Postal Service cannot enforce such rules without a specific grant of power from Congress. Conversely, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested in a concurring opinion regarding the midterms that there is a "fair prospect" the rule falls within statutory authority. The next steps involve the appellate court's review of the Thursday filing, while the deadline for the Justice Department to join the appeal or file a separate notice was the Friday following the state officials' action.