Donald Trump’s latest attempt to restrict mail-in voting just hit another legal roadblock.
A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the U.S. Postal Service from moving forward with a controversial plan that would have restricted the delivery of mail-in ballots, handing the Trump administration its second courtroom loss on the issue in just over a week.
The proposal, issued by Postmaster General David Steiner at Trump’s behest, would have allowed the Postal Service to withhold mail-in ballots from states that refused to turn over sensitive voter information to the Trump administration. Steiner defended the policy, claiming it was designed to ensure “the right ballots are going to the right people.”
But U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan wasn’t buying it.
In a 19-page ruling, Sullivan found that the proposed policy likely violated a 2021 court settlement requiring the Postal Service to prioritize the timely delivery of election mail through the 2028 election cycle.
The judge also made clear what he believed was really happening behind the scenes.
Trump’s March executive order, Sullivan wrote, 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.”
The blocked policy was part of that executive order, which directed the Postal Service to develop rules requiring states to create lists of eligible voters at least 60 days before federal elections and to stop sending absentee or mail-in ballots to anyone not included on those lists.
The legal challenge was brought by the NAACP, which argued the Postal Service was violating its obligations under the settlement agreement by abandoning the extraordinary steps it had promised to take to ensure election mail is delivered on time.
The civil rights organization also warned that the proposed restrictions would inevitably prevent large numbers of eligible Americans from voting, with minority communities expected to be hit especially hard because they rely more heavily on mail-in ballots.
“The proposed USPS changes would have created unnecessary and unlawful barriers, in direct violation of the USPS’s mandate to prioritize election mail,” said Anthony Ashton, the NAACP’s senior associate general counsel. “This decision makes clear that access to the ballot cannot be tied to arbitrary requirements.”
The Postal Service argued the lawsuit had been filed too early and claimed the court lacked authority to intervene because the proposed rule wasn’t covered by the earlier settlement. Sullivan rejected those arguments outright.
The ruling marks yet another setback for Trump’s broader effort to reshape election procedures through executive action.
Just last week, a federal judge in Boston struck down the same executive order, ruling that it unlawfully intruded on the constitutional authority of states to administer their own elections.
