Two days after the state Supreme Court temporarily allowed President Donald Trump’s vote-by-mail order to proceed on the grounds that the states filed their lawsuits too soon, Democratic-led states were back in court Wednesday, this time challenging enforcement of finalized U.S. Postal Service rules.
The new lawsuit, brought by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro of 23 states, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, seeks to block requirements that election officials provide information about mail-in voters to the USPS and use ballot envelopes with unique, federally vetted barcodes.
The Postal Service cannot implement the rule ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections because of a separate nationwide injunction that was not affected by Monday’s Supreme Court ruling.
“States across the country are already in full swing preparing for the 2026 election, and now the federal government is stepping in at the last minute to potentially threaten the voting rights of countless Americans,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. New York is one of the states that has filed suit.
The new application follows the path laid out by the Supreme Court on Monday. The justices lifted an earlier injunction after states challenged an executive order issued by President Trump in March before federal agencies finalized the policies they directed them to create.
“The court reviews the final rule, not the proposed rule, and does not review the internal directive to propose a rule in advance,” the court wrote.
The justices emphasized that their decision does not prove that President Trump’s orders or the policies implementing them are legal. “On that point, time will tell,” the majority wrote.
The USPS has now finalized a 95-page rule, giving states the specific policy the Supreme Court previously said was missing.
The rule requires election officials to submit each mail-in voter’s name and address to the new USPS portal, as well as the unique Intelligent Mail barcode assigned to the envelopes used to ship and return that voter’s ballot.
Election officials will also be required to submit shipping and return ballot envelope designs to the USPS for review.
Before a postal worker receives a shipment of ballots, they scan the envelope to ensure the barcode appears on the federal portal. Mail that fails the verification process will not be accepted and will be returned to election officials for correction and resubmission.
States argue that the last-minute requirements could prevent voters from receiving their ballots due to administrative errors, technical failures or delays. Election officials have already designed and purchased envelopes and are preparing to send out ballots for the midterm elections, which are less than 10 weeks away.
Governor Gavin Newsom of California, whose state is one of the plaintiffs, said in a post on X that President Trump “doesn’t run elections, states run elections.” Newsom vowed that California would continue to challenge the administration’s actions.
The coalition alleges in its complaint that the rule exceeds the USPS’s statutory authority, violates the Voting Rights Act and infringes on states’ constitutional authority to administer elections.
States also argue that requiring the USPS to identify mail-in voters violates federal privacy protections governing individuals’ First Amendment activity records.
The USPS says the rule will improve ballot tracking, assist law enforcement and reduce the risk of fraud, while leaving decisions about voter eligibility to state election officials. The agency said it does not compare information in the portal to state voter rolls or independently determine whether a person is eligible to vote.
New litigation does not immediately change the status of this rule. A separate nationwide injunction filed in a lawsuit filed by the League of Women Voters and other voting rights groups still prohibits the USPS from implementing the system in the November election.
White House press secretary Lauren Biss defended the policy, calling Monday’s Supreme Court decision “a major victory for the security of American elections.”
“Radical Democrats continue to oppose common-sense measures that would secure mail-in voting and ensure that only Americans elect America’s leaders,” Biss said. “The Trump Administration will continue to lawfully enact the agenda for which President Trump was elected, including election safety and security.”
USPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
